Harbinger
by aprill99
Summary: Same as my story Post Apocalyptic Chaos. I wanted more PJO fans to be able to read it. For Kyla Drawright Shadowhunter and only child of Artemis, Beacon Hills was supposed to be a reprieve. Then everything goes to Hades when demonic ninjas appear. Starts at episode 3x17 Illuminated & will be mostly cannon with bits thrown in. DerekXOC. The guy needs a non-psycho girlfriend. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Of the things I own, the show Teen Wolf is not among them. Not that I wouldn't thoroughly enjoy owning Derek Hale. It really is unfortunate that slavery is illegal.**

"Being a demigod sucked. That was one fact that had been established, verified, confirmed, and double checked. Being a demigod daughter of Artemis meant that most of the world wanted you dead because you weren't supposed to be born in the first place. Being a demigod daughter of Artemis who shouldn't have been born in the first place who's "normal" parent was a Shadowhunter who was now very dead br /gave you the automatic birth right to the words FML.

Kyla Drawright was the proud possessor of those rights. Her life thus far had been a succession of wars, running, fighting, and just generally trying to continue her existence. This way of living had made Kyla very careful of the saying "it can't get any worse." Things could pretty much always get worse.

Kyla was contemplating weather this made her an optimist or a pessimist when her life took another bizzar turn. Weather that turn was for better or worse really depended on weather you were an optimist or a pessimist. Irony was another factor that made up a really stunning percentage of her life.

Walking home alone after dark in Beacon Hills was probably a bad idea. In the single month that Kyla had lived in the town, there had been more animal attacks and unexplainable deaths than she could count on her fingers. If there was one thing her mixed heritage had given her, it was the ability to deal with wild animals.

That said, the rather large manticore hurtling out of an alley and towards her head was rather surprising.

Kyla ducked a spike launched from the manticore's tail and rolled across the pavement. She was debating the best way to finish this fight quickly. One of the spikes had grazed her forearm and she could feel the burning poison spreading up towards her shoulder. If she didn't hurry this fight to a resolution, her arm would end up being almost completely unusable until she could treat it. Besides, Kyla wasn't sure what this situation would look like to a mundane, but odds were it wouldn't be easy to explain.

Another spike raced past inches from her ear and Kyla muttered a curse. The manticore (otherwise known as the high school physics teacher Mr. Thorne) had a particular beef with her. Kyla and her mother had both shot arrows into the beast at one point or another. Kyla didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt because he a). Had been trying to kill her at the time and b.) proceeded to kidnap her close friend Annabeth.

"Sighting her opening, Kyla dashed forwards and plunged one of her hunting daggers in to Thorne's throat. With a horrible screech, the creature dissolved in to a pile of dust. The deadly weapons she held collapsed at a press of jewels under the hilt from bronze knives the lengths of her forearms to delicate silver charm bracelets.

As soon as her hands were free, Kyla plunged her hand into her gym bag and took a swig of godly nectar from the emergency thermos she kept. She breathed a sigh of relief as the godly drink began to push the poison from her system. She would have used an iratze, but idly enough her system seemed to be able to distinguish between injuries caused by demons and those caused by Grecian monsters. Injuries had to be treated according to what had caused them. Normally her own system could heal her within minutes, but that night there was no moon, which meant that all of her abilities were much slower than normal./p

"Kyla did her best to kick a glop of manticore slime of her shoe and brushed the monster dust off of her clothes. She held a small pinch of the powder gingerly between her fingers before watching it float away in the dim shine of a street lamp. The lights were on even lower power than normal on account of the recent black out. That was another strange occurrence on top of the animal attacks.

She sighed, and mentally resigned herself to the fact that she was going t have to look in to whatever was causing this stuff. It would have been nice if this "vacation" in Beacon Hills had really been the vacation that her mother had said it would be. After a titan war, a giant war, the battle of Allicante, and the battle of the demon realms, a fashion intervention planned by Magnus and Isabelle, and a very competitive wheat field, an actual vacation would have been really nice.

"Thus perished Mr. Thorne," she muttered. "Sociopathic manticore/ high school physics teacher. Which if you really think about it is basically the same thing. He will not be missed, because as I already said he was a sociopathic manticore/ high school physics teacher. I hope to gods he's not leaving behind any little manticores because Angel know one is enough of a bitch to del with. May he rot in Tartarus for an amount of time equivalent to me never having to deal with him again. Vile goo to vile goo, and monstery dust to monstery dust." She waited for a moment before concluding, "I really need some friends."

She froze as the sound of laughing voices broke through the night. A group of young people around her age or slightly older in neon make up and clothing. They actually wouldn't have looked that far out of place at Pandemonium.

As Kyla drew closer, she could hear the thumping base of dance 's best guess was that someone was utilizing the power outage to throw a party. From all the neon, she would say it was probably a black light party.

Looking down, Kyla gave her appearance a quick once over. She was wearing the black spandex shorts she'd worn to her gymnastics practice, a white tank top that would glow just fine under a black light, and a pair of black Nikes with lime green socks, and her leather shadowhunter gear jacket. Isabelle was forever trying to get her to wear high heels, but Kyla maintained that wearing spikes on the bottoms of your feet was nothing short of masochistic. She could live with being short.

Moving with the quick efficiency of someone who had spent a collective total of nearly a decade living with Isabelle Lightwood, not to mention nearly twelve years of gymnastics, Kyla arranged her auburn hair so that it fell in curtains around her face. Jamming her hand in to her gym bag she made quick use of an eyeliner pencil. She shook her bracelets free of her coat sleeves and extracted her necklace from the top of her tank top. They said accessories made the out fit.

She eyed the door to the industrial loft warily. She stepped inside with a sigh. Fuck it. The worst possible words to justify a decision were 'fuck it'. Bad things happened when you made decisions based on the words 'fuck it'. Jace Herondale was solid proof of that.

**A/N: So? What did you guys think? I know that this is a huge combo thing, but I didn't know how to mark this as being a cross of three different things. I hope you guys liked this! I can totally stop if you think it sucked.**

**!*******VERY IMPORTANT* VERRY IMPORTANT********!**

**This story will end up being Derek/OC in the end. Let's face it, the guy needs a non-sociopathic girlfriend. I'm starting from the episode Illuminated in season three. BUT if you guys wanted something different I had an idea of where I could start this story with Kyla and a young Derek in the 2nd episode of season 4.**

**If you guys would like it to start there instead I'll delete this and start again from episode 2 of season 4.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Well, if I owned the rights to Teen Wolf TMI or Percy Jackson my life would be really freaking awesome. My life is sadly not really freaking awesome. The lives of Jeff Davis, Rick Riordan, and Cassandra Clare are really freaking awesome. They own this stuff. I'm just adding a character and changing some things around. You cannot take my character from me!**

The space where the party was being held looked like it was an industrial warehouse that had been converted into a loft. Kyla eyed the neon, gyrating crowed on the dance floor and spared a quick moment to feel bad for whoever owned this place. She had to imagine that that individual had not been informed of the party and would probably not be happy about it.

Upon arrival, Kyla had tried weaving her way through the mob, trying to figure out who in the mob was something other than human. It had quickly become evident that there where just _way _too many people around for that to work. So Kyla had instead found higher ground by climbing a narrow metal staircase that curved above the D.J. booth.

As the daughter of Artemis, Kyla could always tell when supernatural creatures were around her, and what they were. It was an ability that had proved useful for both protection and tracking during hunts, but it wasn't so reliable in a crowd as big as this where everyone was constantly moving. So she had found a perch and begun to watch until something jumped out at her.

There! She focused in on a tall boy who's chest was bare except for neon green body paint. He was talking to a girl who's hair looked like it was a few shades redder and blonder than her own. The girl looked like she was trying to ignore him. A perfect carbon copy of the boy was dancing near by. _Werewolves _a helpful little instinct in the back of her mind said. The label _banshee _attached it's self to the girl. Not that she really knew very much about banshees. Her brain just kind of made those distinctions. Another quick scan of the crowd revealed two more werewolves and a kitsune.

_What in the hell is a kitsune? _she wondered. She didn't get an answer.

She sighed and let her eyes roam over the crowd again. Apparently she had found a wolf pack. Fabulous. Her vacations sucked. A frown wrinkled her forehead when she noted that most of the people she had pinpointed had left the dance floor.

Her frown depend as she noticed a tall, broad shouldered figure pushing his way purposefully through the crowd and towards the D.J booth. As the man moved closer, Kyla could see that he looked older than most of the other partiers. Also, not drunk. Or neon. Thick, dark eyebrows arched severely over serious dark eyes, and his jaw was scattered with a thick layer of stubble. His face seemed purposefully blank and angry.

If she had to guess, Kyla would say that this would be the uninformed owner of this lovely venue. A security guard tried to sop the man's approach which the man handled by lifting the security guard by the throat. _Werewolf _her brain established. The _werewolf _uninformed owner of this lovely venue.

The aforementioned (and really rather attractive looking) uninformed werewolf then proceeded to flip over the entire D.J. table, plunging the room into sudden silence. Kyla winced internally. That equipment had probably been expensive. Everyone stopped dancing and turned to stare at the werewolf who took two steps forward and then bellowed "GET OUT!" His voice was unquestionably commanding and more than a little pissed off.

There was a moment of dead silence and then "Damn dude!" someone exclaimed. The loft emptied in seconds as the ravers hurried to escape the palpable wrath of the clearly angry twenty-something year old. Kyla considered leaving then in the crush of people. She knew if she went now then she could go unnoticed, but instead she decided to stay and watch events unfold. She could always play the Clave membership card if she couldn't sneak her way out. Another thing her heritage occasionally ended up being good for was that the threat of powerful friends occasionally got her out of trouble.

The remaining occupants of the room ended up being the dark haired loft owner werewolf, the werewolf twins, another werewolf who was tall thin blonde boy who was standing next to a seemingly human dark haired girl in a pink tank top, the banshee, and the Asian kitsune girl. The girls hand was clasped in a hand belonging to a Hispanic teenaged boy. Her mind was quick to label him as the Alpha of the wolf pack. Though the older man who had yelled at everyone to get out certainly had an aura of power and competence about him.

Before anyone could say or do anything, a cold chill seemed to ripple through the air. The hair on Kyla's arms stood straight on end, and the back of her neck prickled. Several smoky black hooded figures appeared in the loft below and every occupant of the room tensed.

Kyla's bow appeared immediately in her hands, the wood glowing slightly under her fingers. A silver arrow was notched and ready to fire. The familiar weight of her quiver appeared slung reassuringly across her shoulders. Kyla wasn't officially one of her mother's hunters, the whole swearing off boys forever thing didn't really appeal to her all that much. However, her weapons worked on the same principals of appearing when she needed them or felt threatened.

With an early silent synchronicity, all eight of the hooded figures turned to look at the twin with the neon chest paint. "Guys," the boy said, a note of uncertainty and fear in his voice. "They're all looking at me," the urgency of his voice was growing. Kyla couldn't blame him. She would be freaked out too. "Why are they all looking at me?!"

Kyla spared a moment to feel bad for the guy, but most of her focus was on choosing her target. Of course, that was a little more difficult when there were eight identical options to pick from. In the end she could probably hit all of them with enough time, but picking a place to start was kind of reassuring. If she knew situations like this like she thought she did, deep shit was probably about to start either going down or hitting the fan. Possibly it would be doing both.

In 5...4...3...2 there we go! Everyone launched into a fight all at once. That was very nearly enough to throw her aim off completely, but Kyla was a good enough shot that she could pick out a moving target and follow it. As long as no one in the mess below did anything too screwy. Oh gods, there was no hope.

The dark haired man who owned this pace used one quick movement to break the neck of the creature that was nearest to him. _Oni _her brain said. Yet another species of the supernatural no one had ever informed her about. The move was quick and clean, and Kyla probably would have appreciated it if the Oni's neck hadn't snapped it's self back around.

Well... shit. Apparently this was the time for some kind of action. She lined up her arrow string, fletching, shaft, head, target. With a quick twitch of her fingers the string released and launched the arrow at her target. It buried it's self through the eye slight of the creature and the oni exploded in a black cloud.

Kyla allowed herself a small smile before dropping quickly to the floor. The werewolf with the dark eyes whose life she had probably just saved whipped around to try to find who had shot the arrow. Electric blue eyes like a huskies searched the loft piercingly. Kyla felt oddly relieved when the fight drew the wolf's focus away from her. She had known people before with looks that made it feel like they could look straight through you. Annabeth and Jason had them, so did Jace, Percy, and Alec. For someone with as many secrets as Kyla, those looks were frightening.

The arrow clattered to the ground and Kyla made a mental note to try to recollect it later. If she couldn't it wasn't the end of the world. One of the beautiful things about her quiver was that it had been enchanted to never be empty. But still, she believed the term that human snipers used was "policing the brass". Well okay, so technically she was using silver, but who really cared about technicalities?

The oni had turned and zeroed in on the alpha boy and the kitsune girl. The alpha's face had morphed in to it's wolf visage, and his eyes had turned a searing blood red. The kitsune girl looked absolutely terrified. Well that was awkward. Apparently someone hadn't been clued in on the whole werewolf thing.

The first specks of golden light crept slowly into the loft making Kyla blink. Her mother being the goddess of the moon combined wit Kyla's life as a shadowhunter meant that she was used to a nocturnal schedule. Her eyes were pretty well adjusted to seeing in the dark. Unexpected bright lights always made her shut her eyes. It was occasionally a weakness during a fight, but her eyes simply worked that way.

When she opened her eyes again the Oni were gone. "What the hell were those things?" the banshee girl asked. Kyla gave her a quiet round of applause for getting straight to the point, and actually asking the important questions. Every group needed at least one person like that. Without Clary, Alec, and Annabeth, half of the people she knew would probably never get anything done.

Tall, blonde, and skinny looked meaningfully at the brunet human next to her. "Your dad's twenty-four hours are up."

Dad? Oohh... The plot thickens. Kyla scooted forwards to the edge of the landing and sat with her legs folded neatly under her. She folded her hand together on the edge of the railing and leaned her chin on top of them. She got the feeling that she could be in for a very long story.

**A/N: So how was it? I only got one review on the last chapter :( Pouty face. come on guys! I need to know if you guys think I'm doing a good job. If you think that this whole story sucks I'll ditch it and actually do the AP homework I'm supposed to be doing. Review for me!**

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxxxooooxxo**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Well, let's put t like this, it would be awesome if I owned literally anything that you recognize from this story. I don't though, just Kyla. I enjoy manipulating what the characters you know and love are doing within their established universes. I promise to hand them back over to Jeff Davis, Cassandra Clare, ad Rick Riordan in time for them to make all of their scheduled appointments.**

A long story it basically was not. As it was, the story was essentially that the human girl-Allison was part of a family of hunters. Apparently her father had encountered the Oni before. The idea of human hunter families was slightly intriguing to her. She had herd rumors of humans or human families that had decided to dedicate themselves to hunting, but she had never met any before. As far as she was concerned, humans who chose to become hunters were likely either a.) idiotic or b.) masochistic.

The basic information that she did manage to gain from watching the group conversation were the names of the individuals involved. This was really very helpful because it meant that she could stop calling the people by something other than their physical descriptions. The twins were Ethan and Aiden but please dear gods don't ask her which one was which. It had taken her nearly two years to figure out a way to tell the difference between Connor and Travis Stoll. The red-headed banshee was Lydia. The kitsune was Kira, and her Alpha boyfriend was Scott. The skinny blonde boy was named Isaac. Mr. I-have-broad-shoulders-and-a-world-medal-in-brooding was actually named Derek.

The ensuing conversation about strategy, planning, and generally what they were going to do next was nearly enough to put Kyla in to a sleepy daze. If she had wanted to sit and listen to people discuss strategy she would have stayed at camp and sat in the Athena cabin for a little while. Not that she didn't get along with the Athena kids, Annabeth had been her best friend for nearly eight years.

Derek's voice jerked her back to full consciousness. "All right," he said. "Everybody go home. Go to bed. We can finish this tomorrow. Everyone's half asleep anyway, and I can't go to bed until your all gone. I haven't slept in over seventy-two hours, so everybody get out."

Kyla meant to get up and sneak out one of the windows. She really, really did. However, between school, homework, gymnastics, occasional fighting, and the babysitting she did to earn money, she hadn't slept in nearly as long as Derek had. Instead of moving, she had found herself curled up on her side on the floor with her head on her hands. Kyla heard movements in the loft below, but it was too late to try to leave. Blackness was already swimming in around the edges of her vision, and a moment later her eyes slipped shut. She had slept around werewolves before with Luke's pack in the New York train station. She wasn't dead yet.

* * *

Derek Hale's life included a whole lot of strange supernatural stuff. Unfortunately, that strange supernatural stuff kind of crowded out his time to do mundane things like sleep. In fact, if Derek were allowed to do nothing but sleep for a whole month straight he would probably still be a good two years behind on the recommended eight hours per night. So when he thought he could hear an extra heart beat in his loft post demonic ninja attack he had thought that he could probably chalk it up to sleep deprivation if he really wanted to.

The smell of sunshine, which he recognized from visitors his mother had taken meetings with at least once a year could have been something his addled mind had made up as well. After all, it was highly unlikely that a shadowhunter would be in his loft for any reason. The silver arrow that had killed one of the ninja's was a little bit harder to believe he had made up. In the interests of getting his loft back to himself he had decided not to mention it much during the group meeting if no one else was going to.

When the heart beet remained after everyone had left, Derek resigned himself to the fact that he was probably going to have to deal with the shadowhunter in he room eventually. With heavy, tired steps, Derek made his way up the spiral staircase. He expected a few things when he got to the top of it. A heavily armed burly man covered in scars seemed to fit the bill. What he didn't expect was what he got.

The small body of a girl was curled up in a tight ball on the floor by the landing. His night sight revealed a pale face framed by a mess of dark auburn hair that was darker than Lydia's, but still not quite pure red. Her eyes were shut, and she probably couldn't have been much older than Scott or any of his friends if she was older than them at all. A few dark lines showed along her arms and legs, which Derek guessed were her shadowhunter marks. Her eyes were tightly closed, every muscle in her body was tense, and she was shivering so much Derek was surprised she hadn't vibrated apart.

Derek sighed, mentally debating. He could either wake the girl up and demand to know why one of the Nephilim was in his loft, or he could let her stay, and maybe earn a few points with the Clave. God knew they needed all the help they could get living in Beacon Hills. Being too tired to deal with a confrontation, Derek decided option two was probably best and began to head back down the stairs to his bed.

The girl gave another violent shiver, and Derek paused with his foot on the first step. She shivered again and the girl's heart rate increased as she gave a small whimper. He watched as her heartbeat faded back to normal in his ears. His best guess was that she had probably had a nightmare. The life she had probably provided her with plenty of source material for those.

Mentally slamming his head against a brick wall for making choices that were probably bad ones, Derek turned back around and crossed to the girl in two steps. Crouching down, Derek scooped her easily into a rough cradle provided by his arms and stood up. It was hard to tell with his increased strength, but Derek thought she seemed a little too light for someone who had the obvious muscle tone that this girl did.

Carefully watching his feet as he moved so he didn't trip down the stairs, Derek made his way down to the main floor of the loft. He placed the girl's body gently on his couch and grabbed the throw blanket from over the back of the couch. He spread it over the girls body and tucked it around her feet. He sat on the edge of the couch for another moment watching as his body heat, and the warmth of the blanket seep into the girl, slowly relaxing her muscles and ceasing the shivering.

Derek sighed and rubbed his face with the back of his hand as he stood and walked over to his own bed. He pondered the situation as he peeled off his shirt and changed in to a pair of sweat pants to go to bed. From what he knew about Nephilim, they didn't typically sleep easy in wolf dens. Whatever had happened with this girl, she was apparently tired enough to sleep through all kinds of possible danger. Including himself.

Sighing deeply, Derek rolled his body under the covers. Whatever was going on- demonic ninjas, sociopathic uncles, supernatural teenagers, exhausted Nephilim girls with auburn hair who passed out in his loft, it could all wait until tomorrow... Couldn't it?

**A/N: So how was this? A little bit of Derek's POV. I thought it was needed because seriously, we never know what on earth could be going on inside his pretty head. **

**I still have only one review! This is not okay people! Tell me what you thought of this. I want to know, even if you thought it sucked and was absolutely the worst thing you've ever read.**

**Review for me!xoxoxoxxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I have not morphed into Jeff Davis, Rick Riordan, or Cassandra Clare overnight. Therefore, one can conclude that I do not own Teen Wolf, Percy Jackson, or The Mortal Instruments. Life sucks don't it?**

When Kyla opened her eyes, the first thing she saw were two matching ice blue eyes staring back at her. They weren't an intelligent, dreaming deep blue like Alec Lightwood's, or a comforting earnest light blue like Jason and Thalia's. Instead, this shade just seemed cold and calculating.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes, hoping she was just having the beginning of another bad dream. Gods only knew she had enough of those. Unfortunately, the guy didn't blink out of existence. "Um, hi?" she tried. She wasn't that good with awkward first meetings.

The thirty-something year old man rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. Kyla barely had enough time to cover her ears before he let out a loud below, angling his head slightly back at the bed across from her.

_Wait, bed? _She looked around, someone had apparently picked her up off the floor and moved her to a couch downstairs. That someone had also evidently given her a blanket which was now twisted up around her waist. She was extremely grateful to whoever had given her the blanket. The inside of this loft was freezing. Kyla's body adjust automatically to natural temperatures, unfortunately that didn't include air conditioning or internal temperatures.

"Derrrrrrrrek!" Kyla blinked several times, trying to wake herself up the rest of the way. She hardly ever got to sleep for longer than about five hours at a time, so when she did she tended to sleep like a log.

Derek bolted upright, looking fuzzy and sleepy. Kyla could see that his eyes had gone glowing steel blue, and his claws had shot out of his fingers at the shock of the man's shout. With a tired groan, Derek rolled out of bed and stood up.

Kyla paused all other thought for a moment to thoroughly enjoy whatever confluence of events had resulted with Derek choosing to sleep shirtless. There were some sights that deserved all levels of godly and angelic thanks. Broad shoulders led down to a sculpted chest and at least a full six pack of abs. The guy's forearms looked like they were probably thicker than her entire mid section. Hallelujah for hot guys choosing to sleep shirtless. "What?" he growled out lowly.

The older man gesticulated wildly at her. "Explain!" he demanded of Derek.

Derek looked at Kyla. Tired, pale grey-green eyes raking up and down her body. Some people had stares that it was possible to feel, just barely over the threshold of sensations the human body can pick up. Like a moth landing on your arm. Derek had a stare like that, and Kyla felt it like a feather brushing against her skin.

Derek watched closely as Kyla raised her hand and gave him a tired wave. He noted that the girl's eyes were large, and roughly the same glowing shade of deep green as grass with the sun behind it. He thought they were probably normally bright and sharp, but just then they were still clouded with sleep. The sun coming in through the window made her skin and hair seem lighter than they had the night before when he had carried her to his couch. "Explain what Peter?" he asked. "It's a teenaged girl who was sleeping on the couch."

"Fine, I'll rephrase," Peter said with a voice of very thinly veiled annoyance. "Explain why their is a teenaged girl sleeping on our couch with one of our blankets!"

Kyla curled minutely further in to the couch. As far as stressful wake up calls went, this wasn't the worst one she had ever had, but it was still way to early in the morning to deal with shouting matches. With this in mind, she chose to not bring up the fact that she was no longer sleeping on their couch. Peter had woken her up.

Derek merely rolled his eyes at his uncle. "Take a deep breath Peter," he advised. He allowed the double meaning to sneak in to his voice. When werewolves told each other to take a deep breath it could either mean to calm down, or it could mean one of them had smelled something. In this case, Derek meant both. "What do you smell?"

Kyla, and ironically enough Peter too, rolled her eyes, but didn't speak. Peter inhaled deeply through his nose, opening his mouth slightly to allow the girl's scen to wash over the scent nodes on the roof of his mouth. "Ah," he concluded, picking up the scent of sunshine. "She's one of the Nephilim. You let her stay to buy some grace with the Clave."

"We could use all the help we can possibly get right now," Derek said with a shrug, leaning back against his dresser. "Lately we've had few enough opportunities to earn it. If one of those opportunities means letting a sixteen year old girl crash on my couch with a blanket, that sixteen year old girl can crash on my couch with a blanket."

"And that_ seventeen_ year old girl is extremely grateful for the use of your couch," Kyla interjected, placing extra emphasis on her actual age. One of the strange effects of her mother's genes was that she tended to look pretty much any age between thirteen and nineteen. Almost no one guessed correctly the first time. People saw her lack of height and immediately assumed that it corresponded to a lack of age. "Anyway I'm sorry," she continued. "I followed a sort of supernatural presence in here last night during that party. I meant to leave after the whole demonic ninja thing."

"But instead you ended up passed out asleep on my floor?" Derek filled in skeptically. He hadn't met very many Nephilim, but the more he thought about it the more sure he was that the ones he had met would probably never fall asleep in a place that was clearly the property of a member of the local werewolf pack.

Kyla glared up at him. Her theory on sarcasm was that it was a bit like flu, or the chicken pox. You could be vaccinated against it by being exposed to it in a small dose. Exposure to Jace, Magnus, Simon, Leo, and Percy had long since vaccinated her against it. "You're not the only one who hasn't slept in three days," she said stiffly.

Derek inclined his head in acknowledgment of the not so subtle barb. He allowed a very small amount of admiration for the slight Shadowhunter girl in front of him. Her heart hadn't blipped at all being faced by his questions and his uncle's icy glare. In fact, the steady rhythm of her heart had risen smoothly from it's slow beet of sleep to it's natural waking tempo.

At the moment, the girl was studying the light coming in through the windows between his head and Peter's. She wasn't looking directly at or directly away from either one of them. Derek mentally applauded the decision. He hardly ever turned his back on Peter completely either. Being stabbed in the their made it infinitely harder to remove the blade than being stabbed in the front.

Kyla sighed as she judged that the time was probably somewhere between seven and eight o'clock in the morning. "Speaking of being busy, I've got to get home and clean up. Plus I need to change." She picked the blanket up from off of her lap and folded it neatly before hanging it neatly over the end of the couch. She unfolded her legs and stretched out the kinks in her muscles the way a cat might. "Well, nice meeting you I guess. Let's all just hope it won't be happening again any time soon."

"Oh please," Peter said, turning on his own patented brand of charm. Now that he had recognized Kyla as a potential source of aid, he was more than eager to get in to her good books. "Feel free to use the bathroom here to get ready. It must be easier than walking all the way back to your home," Kyla looked at him a little doubtfully, and then slid her eyes over to Derek. "Oh Derek doesn't mind," Peter said with a serene smile, following her gaze. "Do you Derek?"

The younger man gave a tiny nod, and Kyla reluctantly agreed. Not because she was impressed by Peter's charm. After all, she had spent over half of her childhood growing up in the same household as Jace Herondale. For someone to be honestly charming to her they had to be working pretty damn hard. However, Peter did have a point. If she wanted to get to school on time, she couldn't exactly be traipsing across town to her apartment. Portalling was kind of pointless as well, since the energy needed to make it generally left her too tired to want to go to school anyway.

After shutting herself in Derek's small bathroom, she exerted a small amount of power to summon up her hunter's pack. It was a trick she had managed to pick up from some Egyptian magicians she had met in Brooklyn. She had enchanted her bags so that whenever she left them anywhere they dropped away into a little sub-dimension. She basically just had to use a certain amount of will power to bring them through when she needed them. She had to move around so much that storage was unreliable at best, and having access to all of her things was kind of important.

Jamming her hands into her bag, she willed her clothes and necessary toiletries into her hands and extracted them. She washed her face quickly and brushed her teeth. A shower would have to wait until that night. Even if she had had the time to take one that morning (which she didn't) there was no way she would want to be that vulnerable in a werewolves apartment while to werewolves were in it. Frankly, she didn't want to have to jump out the window and run across town naked. Besides, she had gymnastics that night anyway.

Appraising her clothing for the day was slightly annoying. The clothes in her pack almost solely consisted of hunting clothes and Shadowhunter gear. Neither of which were all that typical of the clothes she normally wore to school. Normally she dressed to avoid attention. Oh well.

She ended up in dark jeans, a black tank top, and her leather gear jacket. The dark colors made her skin seem very pale, and her hair a few shades brighter. However, dark colors were really more about practicality than fashion for Nephilim. Ichor and monster guts were difficult to wash out of fabric.

Her hair she simply brushed and twisted into a messy bun, held in place with a double color pen that turned into her two bronze hunting knives, and the silver tube of an unnamed seraph blade. Whatever, it was convenient and she didn't have a hair tie. Accessorizable weaponry, now that would be a fashion show worth seeing.

After storing her things and extracting her school bag, she sent up a quick thank you to whichever god might be listening. Having her homework was a regrettable necessity of going to mundane school. While normality was nice, school was still difficult.

A strange result of her mixed D.N.A was that her hunting instincts had mostly crushed her ADHD, which was a relief, but hardly surprising. After all, it was hard to track and wait for prey when you were constantly fidgeting. However, her Nephilim side had done absolutely nothing to relieve her dyslexia. In fact, the shadowhunter predisposition for Greek and Latin had probably just made it worse. Since she couldn't exactly request versions of all of her homework in Latin or Ancient Greek, school work was really hard.

When she left the bathroom, she found Peter and Derek (now regrettably wearing a shirt) drinking coffee in the corner of the loft that was apparently designated as the kitchen. Surprisingly Peter had poured her a travel mug of coffee and added cream and sugar. "Where on earth did the bag even come from?" the man wondered out loud.

Kyla took the cup and swallowed a large mouthful. Damn. She wasn't normally picky about her coffee, but this was pretty awesome. "No offense," she said. "But that secret is worth more than coffee. Even really, really, good coffee."

"What about the secret of your name?" Derek questioned, leaning against the wall by the window. Clave connections worth weren't shit if you didn't know who you were connected with.

Kyla considered, knowing why her name was important. For smaller wolf packs, a Clave connection could be the difference between survival and destruction. True she had saved Derek's life the night before, but she had also been trespassing on what was, for lack of a better term, pack territory. Derek would have been within the Accords to attack her if he had wanted to. She owed him something at the very least if not to Peter as Derek was the technical owner of the loft. "It's Kyla Drawright," she enunciated clearly. "K-y-l-a D-r-a-w-r-i-g-h-t."

Derek nodded, acknowledging that the precision with which she provided her name was a strange form of open sesame. A miniscule offering of a possible lifeline. The acknowledgement of the idea that he had a single favor that he could cash in if he needed to. "Derek Hale," he introduced. "This is my uncle Peter."

Taking another sip of coffee, Kyla filed the last name away to pull information on later. The name "Hale" seemed to prick at something in the back of her brain, like a memory that was over halfway forgotten. "I've got to go," she said, holding up the travel mug. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Where are you going anyway?" Peter pried.

Kyla raised an eyebrow, pausing with her hand on the door. "School," she answered. "I have an AP History test first period." She enjoyed the looks of confusion on the faces of the two Hales. She fixed her face into a sweet smile, and with a pageant stile wave Aphrodite and Isabelle Lightwood would have both been proud of, she said, "bye bye now." Then she whirled around and slipped out the door.

* * *

"Well," Peter said slowly. "That was... interesting. I must say the last Nephilim I met wasn't quite so-"

"Teenaged?" Derek supplied. "Nephilim age of majority is eighteen. If she's younger than that and going to school then she must be hear unofficially."

Peter shrugged, "you may be right. But no matter how old, a Shadowhunter in town is not something to dismiss lightly. Clave intervention could seriously complicate this situation. Besides," he inhaled deeply. "There's something different in her scent. Something non-angelic."

Derek inhaled through his nose reflexively at the words, picking through the collection of smells that formed Kyla's scent. He put aside the added scents such as chalk powder, coffee, mint toothpaste, a brand of face wash, leather, metal and the hints of pineapple skin lotion and strawberry shampoo.

The scent that was left was a unique mixture of more human, natural scents. He could detect scents like birch bark, warm grass, and something that seemed a bit like rose but slightly more herbal. These were mixed with the shadowhunter smell of ash and sunshine.

Then there was something else. Something cool and powerful that tingled in Derek's nose. He inhaled again. focusing solely on the unknown but strangely familiar element of scent. It was deeply inlayed in the base make up of Kyla's scent. An element central to her personally.

As the tingling hit his nose again, Derek's eyes snapped open. He knew without checking that they had changed form to a glowing steal blue. Kyla's scent drawing up the wolf nature he so often kept buried. "It's like moonlight," he concluded. "She smells like moonlight."

Peter's smile but Derek immediately on edge. He watched his uncle inhale leasurly and the smile he displayed next gave Derek an immediate sense of foreboding. " She's something more than Nephilim," his uncle said. "It's intoxicating."

**A/N: So what do you think? I hope you all liked it. I'm trying to update often over the summer while I have the time. My classes next year are going to keep me so busy it won't even be funny. I enjoyed writing Derek/Kyla interaction and Peter is so much fun to write being sinister and creepy. Review for me!xoxoxoxooxxxoxoxoxxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: In a word, hell no. Owning any of this is not something I have any claim on. All of this stuff belongs to the genius's named Cassandra Clare, Jeff Davis, and Rick Riordan. Well, go them for coming up with all of this stuff I guess. We at least get to enjoy it and manipulate it for our own fantasy purposes. Mwahahahaha! Go us.**

School that day was interesting to say the least. And no, not because of the classes. Kyla didn't care how much teacher's claimed that all knowledge was enthralling. Nothing could make a history test that interesting. Kyla had always found that the most interesting thing about high school was the other students who attended.

For the last month, Kyla had managed to stay under the general radar by simply following her hunter instincts for camouflage. That and a slight glamour applied before she left her apartment for school every morning had kept her almost completely off the radar of almost the complete high school population. Anonymity was safety.

Today being in shadowhunter clothes with no glamour mean resigning herself to a certain amount of staring and whispers. Some of the people who had been more affected by the glamour than the others were surprised to learn that she even went to school there in the first place. In fact, after raising her hand and answering a question correctly in her economics class, the teacher Coach Finstock had asked just where the hell she had come from, and demanded to know her name so he could check the attendance log.

However, the day did confirm that she actually did have nearly every class with Scott, Kira, Ethan, Aiden, and Lydia. Strategically placed empty desks around her class rooms made her think that she was probably in classes with Allison, Isaac, and someone else who was always next to Scott. Strangely Allison and Isaac weren't around. She was fairly sure that the empty seat normally next to Scott generally held a kid named Stiles who had worse ADHD than half of the half bloods she had ever met. This information pretty much thoroughly shot her plan to avoid the supernatural teenagers all to hell with a machine gun.

Having been waiting all morning for one of the supernatural teens to do something, Kyla was hardly surprised when her normally empty lunch table earned a large influx of supernatural teenagers that day. Also unsurprisingly, Scott appeared to be leading the group. Kyla guessed that he had probably picked up on the supernatural edge to her scent, weather it was Nephilim or demigod. Either way, he likely didn't know what it was. An alpha Scott was. Highly informed he was not. However, that didn't change the fact that Kyla had seen his nostrils flare and his pupils dilate when she had walked passed him to get to her desk in economics. This meeting had only been a matter of time.

"Can I help you all?" she asked, eyebrows raised. She was willing to let Scott have this conversation, but that didn't mean she was going to do all the work for him. If he wanted answers, then he was going to have to learn how to ask his questions. She had started to run out of patience after about five minutes of awkward staring, glaring, and the sound of chewing.

Scott had the social awareness to flush slightly under his tan. "Um, hi," he started awkwardly. Not bad, at least he had gotten to words. "I'm Scott. This is Ethan, Aiden, and Lydia."

"I know," Kyla said simply. She wondered briefly where their other friends were, but really it wasn't her problem. "Now is there a reason that you're all sitting at my lunch table? Because if not I'm okay with you leaving." Kyla didn't ever get much time to do things as mundane as sit and eat her lunch in a high school cafeteria. The pastime was something close to sacred, and now it was being taken up by other people's problems. Either they needed to get to the point or leave.

Lydia jumped in before Scott could say anything. "Nice tattoos," she said, referring to the runes on the backs of her hands, and the further marks that curled and twined together up her arms and disappeared into the sleeves of her jacket. "Lydia's question seemed barbed and sharp." Kyla mentally noted that the banshee was much smarted than the persona she put on most of the time at school.

Kyla took a short moment before answering. How she answered questions in this situation was important. If she lied, she knew that the boys at the table would probably hear some kind of uptick in her heart. The tricky thing about lying to werewolves was that the clear zone for your vitals was very, very specific. If you worked too hard to level your heartbeat, then it became too slow and any werewolf worth his furry little ears would know she was trying to hide something. If you just spoke and lied then your heart would jump reflexively. It was time to take a leaf out of the book of the Fair Folk. "A friend did them for me," technically true. Isabelle was her friend, and she had don most of the marks on Kyla's right side.

One of the twins (she still had no clue how to tell which one was which) lost patience. "We know what you are," he spat out. Kyla wasn't overly concerned as she doubted that that was completely true. They might know she was a Shadowhunter but she doubted they knew she was a demigod. "My brother and I have met some of your kind before. So cut all this crap and tell us what you're doing here!"

She gave him the kind of look that generally questioned his intelligence and suggested that the answer to his question should be obvious. "I'm eating lunch," she said innocently. She gestured at her half eaten salad for emphasis. "Are we done here now? Because lunch is almost over."

"Aiden," the twin who hadn't spoken yet said, chastising his brother gently as a low growl began to grow in the other boy's chest. Kyla took the brief distraction to make herself a quick mental note. Irritable and volatile werewolf twin equaled Aiden. Calm and steady werewolf twin equaled Ethan. Now she might actually be able to tell the two of them apart. As long as the personalities they were displaying currently were their typical ones. If not, then she was still screwed.

Scott jumped in to try to keep the conversation on track. Kyla got the feeling that he was probably fighting a loosing battle on that front. "Look, why ever you're here," he began earnestly. "We don't want to have any kind of problem with you," she got the feeling that Scott was actually being honest with her. "It's just that," he continued. "We're dealing with a really big problem here, and from what Ethan and Aiden have said about people like you we think you could help us."

So apparently this was a plea for help kind of a conversation and not a demand for answers conversation. This showed Kyla that the group priority was safely off of her and on dealing with the Oni. "Right," she said, eating a forkful of cucumber. "The Oni. Tall, creepy, smoky guys in black carrying ninjatos. I've seen a lot of weird things, but I've got to admit the demonic ninjas are a new one."

The young alpha looked momentarily shocked. Kyla took another bite of her lunch. "You were there last night?" Scott asked, eyes wide.

Kyla gave another look that said the answer to the question should be obvious. "Who do you think shot the arrow that saved your friend from getting his ass kicked at the least?" What followed was a moment of silence that was interrupted by the bell indicating that lunch was over.

She stood and began to clear her lunch tray. "Look," she said. "I'm sorry I can't help you, but as far as monster fighting goes, I'm in the middle of a vacation." She raised her voice slightly to cut off the protest forming on Scott's lips. "Even if I wasn't on vacation and was here as an official Clave member, which I'm not, there are laws in place. The Accords say that I can't interfere with the affairs of a werewolf pack unless I'm threatened or human blood has been spilled. Judging by how the Oni only went after supernatural creatures and the gap their has been between the human deaths and the Oni's arrival, neither of those things have happened yet.

All of this was completely true. Technically she had broken Clave law by firing that arrow the night before, though she could probably talk herself out of trouble on that one if she had to. Her morals simply hadn't let her stand by and watch people who had probably done nothing wrong die when she could prevent it. If Kyla was being honest with herself, she knew that she would probably end up involved with this situation in the end, but avoiding the situation for at least today was more in the best interests of her physical and mental help. "I'm sorry," she said again. "You all seem like nice people. But right now I just can't help you. I'll see you in class."

* * *

When school was over, Kyla went directly to her gymnastics practice. Gymnastics had always been one of her favorite activities. For one thing, she could apply it to fighting, which made her less predictable. For another thing, it occupied her mind almost completely, which meant that she got a mental break from the supernatural. If you were worried about demons and monsters while trying to do a tumbling run on beam, then you were going to fall off the beam. Which would hurt. A lot.

That day the head coach assigned them to run their floor routines for half of the practice and their bar routines for the other half. Kyla sighed and made her way over to the chalk bucket, strapping on her hand braces as she went. She prepped her hands for the apparatus and brushed the excess powder off of her hands. The spare powder left white smears on her black work out shorts. Better to get bars over with first in her opinion. This particular apparatus always left her with more bruises across her hips and less skin across her palms.

Ending the day on floor was a good plan too. It gave her an amount of freedom that wasn't always present on the other apparatuses. Doing a floor routine the right way made her feel like she was flying. Her problems melted away at the side of the matts waiting for her to pick them up again later.

Just as she was finishing her final run through of her routine for the day, Kyla felt a sharp prickling n the back of her neck. It was the feeling that warned her that she was being watched. Her head snapped out of her finishing position, chest heaving as she recovered her breath. No one was looking at her. Not even the coach whose job it was to be watching her. A group of the other girls on the competition team were chatting and stretching before going home.

For a moment, Kyla thought she saw a dark figure with broad shoulders standing near the outer door that led out in to the street. "Kylie!" a high little voice called excitedly, breaking her concentration.

Kyla whipped around to see a little girl with a mess of dark brown hair racing towards her. "Hey Lina," Kyla greeted, scooping up the six year old.

Angelina point and her younger brother Mathew were the two children that Kyla babysat for. Angelina competed on the Beacon Hills under eight gymnastics team. Every week day, Kyla took the little girl home from practice and relieved the older women who was hired to look after baby Mathew during the day. Then she supervised Lina's homework while she made dinner for both children and made sure that they were fed. Then she did baths and story time and did her homework in the Point's living room until the children's mother Liz got home from work.

It was a job made considerably easier by the fact that both children were extremely well behaved. Angelina was a sweet little girl, and Mathew hardly ever fussed. She was paid well for it to which didn't hurt. The thing that had sealed the deal for her was that both Point children were the demigod children of her uncle Apollo.

Kyla had always had a particular soft spot for the children of Apollo. They were the closest things she had to full cousins at camp. Most of the Cabin Seven occupants had felt a distinct lack of people to feel protective of and had firmly settled on her. A brief visit from Apollo had made it clear that Kyla was his children's responsibility. Apollo himself was protective of her, calling her his favorite niece. She liked to think that looking after Angelina and Mathew was paying back some of that kindness.

"How was your practice Lina?" Kyla asked, putting the little girl down in the hall and helping he gather her things before pulling on her sweats and packing her gym bag. "Did you learn anything new?"

Angelina considered the question carefully. "Not really," then her face brightened. "They let us go on the big beam! I was the only one who didn't fall off too!"

"Wow!" Kyla said, giving the girl a high five and helping her put on her jacket. She slipped in to her gym sweats and swung her bags over her shoulder. She looked down at Angelina and asked, "are you walking or am I carrying you?"

"Carry!" Lina exclaimed, bouncing excitedly.

"Okay." Kyla adjusted her bag a bit and leaned down, boosting the small girl off the ground and sitting her against her hip before walking out the door. The skin on the back of her neck continued to prickle.

**A/N: There we have another lovely chapter! So what did you think? I thought that having a babysitting job would be good because it gives Kyla a job to earn money and make her a little more human. Derek's been watching Kyla. Oohhh. You'll see some major cuteness in the next chapter if you stick with it. Just picture Tyler Hoechlin holding a baby. I'm thinking it's a pretty adorable mental image. Review! Review! Review! Love you all!xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxxoooxoxoxoxxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxo**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: If we lived in a completely different alternate universe I would have a possible opening to be the owner or creator of Teen Wolf, The Mortal Instruments, or Rick Riordan. Unfortunately, we all happen to live in this universe where I am not the owner or creator of any of these fabulous ideas. I just like to borrow and contort the people living in these alternate universes to do what I want. **

Kyla switched Angelina to her other hip as she dug in her pocket for her keys. She sorted out which key she needed and unlocked the Point's front door. She pushed it open and set Lina down on her own two feet and swung her bags off of her shoulder and on to the floor. "Alright, go change. Then bring your homework to the kitchen table." The little girl tour off down the hall delightedly. "Hang up your jacket!" Kyla called after her. "And put yor gym clothes in the laundry and not on the floor!"

The sound of crying reached her ears and Kyla sighed. She walked in to the main room of the open floor plan of the downstairs and found Mrs. James sitting on the couch holding Mathew. Mrs. James was an elderly women who lived in the house across the street from the Point's. She had four children who were either in or finished with college.

The elderly women smiled when she saw Kyla. "He was alright earlier," she said of the crying infant in her arms. "He woke up about twenty minutes ago and I haven't been able to get him back to sleep."

Kyla reached out and took the crying little boy. She bounced him up and down gently. "Did someone hit their terrible twos early?" she asked. Mathew was just three months away from his second birthday. He was normally a very sweet and non-fussy baby, but she supposed even babies were entitled to cry if they were having a bad day. Though, how bad a day a baby could actually have, she really didn't know.

Mathew sniffed and buried his head in her neck. Mrs. James smiled and stood up from the purse, grabbing an oversized blue purse. That bag always gave Kyla a bad feeling because it made her think of the bags that the three furies carried around when they were pretended to be old ladies. "have a good evening," she told Kyla. "I cleaned the house and ingredients for dinner are on the counter. I thought you and Angelina might enjoy some spaghetti and salad. Things for garlic bread are there to if you feel like it."

"Thank you," Kyla called as the women pushed her way out the door in to the falling darkness. She was still bouncing Mathew and began humming an old Greek lullaby. This was a method that almost always seemed to calm both of the Point kids down. Sometimes she used the French lullaby that Mayrse Lightwood used to sing to her kids. It stood to reason that Lullabies would work on Mathew and Angelina. After all, their father was the god of music.

Once Mathew was asleep, Kyla tucked him in to the crib behind the white couch in the living room and walked to the kitchen. All of the ingredients were exactly as Mrs. James had said. "Lina!" she called. "Stop stalling and get in here with your homework!" Kyla put the water on to boil for the pasta and began to chop vegetables and put them in to a large bowl. A moment later she heard the pattering of feet and when she looked across the counter again Angelina was sitting at the kitchen table diligently working on mathematics homework.

"There's the little scholar," Kyla said, adding the dry noodles into the now bubbling water. "Do you need help with anything?" Math she could help with. Vocabulary and spelling? Not so much.

"No," Lina said happily. "My teacher helped me with reading at school." Kyla nodded and continued on with dinner preparations. When the food was finished she served a plate for Lina and fed Mathew baby food. The next hour and a half was spent running baths and doing bed time. She flipped the light switch near Angelina's bed room door and paused in the hallway to look back. The little girl was sleeping peacefully.

That was really why she was taking care of the Point kids. She had seen all too closely what happened to kids who were forced to grow up too fast. Nearly every demigod wore it, and many Nephilim her age had it too. The Nephilim were the children of the rebellion of Valentine's Circle. There were orphans and abandoned children who looked lost. Children who had grown up with suffering and were now grown up looked more like they had lost something. She was going to do her damndest to keep Angelina and Mathew from loosing people for as long as possible.

She snagged her gym bag from the hallway and slipped in to the Point's bathroom. After the length of the day she had had, a hot shower was most definitely in order before she finished the homework she had started during her free periods at school. Liz point had always told her to make herself at home, so showering was something she was comfortable doing. The hot water poured down her back and loosened her muscles. The familiar smells of her shampoo and condition relaxed her a little bit farther.

After a good fifteen minutes she shut off the water, dried off, and slid back in to her sweatpants and the black tank top from earlier. She walked down the hall and put her towels in to the dryer in the laundry room. She scooped her hair halfway off of her neck, and then gave up and let the wet strands tangle against her neck and around her face.

Then she flopped down on the living room couch and began her homework. She got through two subjects worth of knowledge and then she got to Latin. Kyla always saved Latin for last because to her it was pretty much doing English. It was highly possible that her even taking Latin could be considered cheating because she could speak it reflexively, but she really didn't care all that much. If anyone did then they could come and make it her problem. Currently, it wasn't her problem. That was how she divided most issues; her problem, not her problem, might end up her problem later.

Suddenly, the prickling feeling on the back of her neck that hadn't been present for the last few hours returned. Her head shot up and she immediately saw Derek Hale. "Oh my god's!" She exclaimed, and immediately regretted it. She normally tried not to use the common demigod plural when she wasn't around demigods. "Don't freaking do that to people! Especially not ones that are armed. What are you even doing here? This isn't even my house!" She rushed on immediately in her best impression of Rachel Dare being bossy.

Derek's eyes narrowed very slightly but he kept on going without questioning her. "Scott said you told him you wouldn't help."

"Scott is very good at relaying information," Kyla bit back, finishing her last translation and snapping the book shut. She packed her school books, all the while feeling Derek's eyes watching her. "I explained why not too," she continued. She glanced up and met his grey-green eyes. "Did he tell you that too?"

"He said it was because you were following Clave law," Derek said, talking more loudly than he had been before. Mathew woke up and began to cry. Kyla cursed under her breath. Not that it mattered much. She was sure the werewolf could hear her. It was more the general principal of not swearing when there was a small child in the room.

Kyla stood and slipped around the back of the couch. She scooped the crying infant in to her arms and began bouncing him again the same way she had when she had come in that afternoon. She began singing quietly to lull the boy back to sleep. She kept holding him and bouncing up and down after the crying had stopped. Derek's gaze weighed heavily on her. "Look," she said in a hushed voice. "You recognized what I was so you must know about the laws I'm talking about."

Derek took a step closer to her, the fact that he was so much bigger than her becoming more apparent as he did so. "Actually," he said evenly advancing again. He was now close enough that Kyla could feel his body heat. "What exactly you are is still one of the things in question."

"Kylie," a small sleepy voice said from the hall that led to the bedrooms.

Kyla's head jerked up and Derek shifted back slightly in to the shadows. "Angelina," she said, forcing her voice to be calm. "What's wrong sweetheart? It's too late for you to be up."

Out of the corner of her eye, Kyla could see Derek scrutinizing the interaction over Mathew's head. "I got thirsty," Lina said plaintively. "And I heard Matty crying. Is Mama home yet?"

Kyla took a deep breath and let it out though her nose. "No Lina," she said. "Your Mom isn't home yet. Matty is fine now. He just got a little fussy. You go get back in bed now and I'll bring you a glass of water. Okay?" The little girl nodded and turned to stumble back down the hall towards her bedroom. Evaluating her problem quickly, Kyla made a probably stupid decision. "Hold him," she said, boosting Mathew in to the werewolf's arms. "If he falls asleep before I get back put him in the crib behind the couch.

Derek took the small boy and cradled him reflexively. One of the benefits of having siblings and cousins was that you learned how to deal with children. He watched as Kyla filled a plastic cup with water and brushed past him and in to the hallway. The scent of the moon, herbs, and sunshine stirred through the air as she moved. Derek shut his eyes and let out a breath through his nose to keep his irises from flashing blue.

He looked down at the small child in his arms too find that Mathew was asleep. He set the boy down in his crib and pulled the blanket over him. Something about the scent of both Point children matched something in Kyla's. It almost made him suspect a familial connection, but both children were clearly not Nephilim. The boy in the crib looked so peaceful, showing no sign that he had been crying a minute a go. How wonderful would it be to be the age where everything could be made better by someone singing a lullaby, and simply holding you until you stopped crying.

A flash of red hair entered his field of vision, and he looked away from Mathew. Kyla had been studying him with her large dark green eyes. "How are they related to you?" Derek asked, changing the subject. "I can smell a blood similarity. How are they related to you?"

Kyla looked like she was weighing her answer before walking closer to him and sinking down on the couch. "They're my cousins," she said, folding her legs under her. The cuff of her sweatpants pulled up slightly, and Derek could see a line of scars near her ankle. "Their father is my mother's twin brother. However, ther mother doesn't know that and I would like it to stay that way."

The werewolf shrugged. Most people probably would have asked about exactly what kind of family dynamic led to having a mother not recognize her children's cousin, and the thought was niggling in the back of his head. However, Derek's family members currently consisted of a probably still sociopathic previously catatonic invalid of an uncle, and a seventeen year old sister who had disappeared to South America. Questioning other people's family situations wasn't exactly something he could take the high ground in. "I know the Accords," Derek said evenly, watching Kyla as he spoke.

She nodded and pulled a couch cushion in to her lap fiddling with the fringe. "So you know that I can't help until the situation changes."

"You have to wait for human blood to be spilled right?" Derek said. Kyla shook her head in the affirmative but didn't but didn't speak. She knew when someone was driving towards an important point. "You've got it," he said. "Scott's father is in the hospital after being stabbed through the chest by one of the Oni." He leaned forward. "What do you know abut them?"

Kyla leaned back towards Derek over her pillow. "I only know what they're called. Do you have anything else?"

Derek frowned. He could tell from her heartbeat that she was telling the truth. "How can you know what you're dealing with and not _know _what you're dealing with?

"I just do," she returned guardedly. Getting in to her demigod heritage was a conversation that should probably be reserved for a whole different day all by it's self. "Does it matter how I know what it is as long as I do know? Their is quite a bit of power in a name. Known things can be fought. Things being unknown are half of what makes them frightening."

Derek stared back at her. He stared at this girl with the huge green eyes. Objectively, she looked about as threatening and knowledgeable as a typical high school cheerleader. But looking a tiny bit closer showed a different picture. Lines of pale white scars laced across her skin; over the back of her hands and ankles, up her arms and over her color. The black of permanent runes interlaced with the white of used ones, beautiful, sharp, and deadly. Her eyes were deep, bottomless pools of green. This girl was unknown. Dangerous.

That impossible scent moved across his nose again, and this time Derek couldn't prevent his eyes from flashing. Kyla tipped her head sideways in interest. She didn't normally get to look at werewolf's eyes when they were in their wolf form. Most of the werewolves she was around didn't generally pick up on her demigod scent. The ones who did all pretty much followed it up with wanting to kill her. Maybe it was a born versus bitten wolf thing. None of the other werewolves eyes had changed around her. Simon had once told her that Nephilim smelled like sunshine. She had always assumed that to most monsters her scent got put under a label that read something like 'lunch'. Apparently to Derek she smelled like something else.

Kyla shifted slightly and noted that Derek's eyes had snapped shut. She stood and walked over to him. Derek's hands were clenched by his sides, and if Kyla wasn't wrong she was pretty sure that his nails had elongated in to claws and were puncturing the skin of his palms. Kyla reached out and gripped his right wrist with her left hand. She used her right hand and covered Derek's clenched figures. "Breath," she said calmly. "You won't hurt me by knowing what I smell like. _Breath _Derek."

Derek obeyed the calm instructions reflexively. He dragged deep breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth. The rushing tingle of the smell of the full moon and herbs rushed through him again, growing stronger with Kyla's proximity. Slowly he felt his claws retract and allowed the pressure of thin, strong fingers to unclench his hand. The influx of oxygen had slowed his heart rate enough to ease out of the change, no matter how much her scent seemed to be trying to inhibit his logic. After another deep breath he got his eyes open.

"Hm..." Kyla said, tipping her head sideways.

"What?" Derek breathed out, wondering what could possibly be coming. He had a feeling it probably wouldn't be all that complimentary.

"Nothing really," she replied, both of her hands still wrapped around his right one. "Just that your eyes are blue." Derek looked down at her and arched an eyebrow, as if to say, _your point being? _Kyla just shook her head slightly. "I'm not going to ask," she said quietly. She knew what blue eyes in a werewolf meant. However, she also had enough manners to know that asking just which innocent individual Derek had killed. Normally you were supposed to get to know people a little better first.

The werewolf's head snapped up at the sound of car tires on the gravel drive way. "The kid's mother is home," he said.

Kyla released his arm and stepped back. If the hot supernatural werewolf said that a car was in the driveway, then she was going to take it as fact that there was a car in the driveway. "Go," she said immediately.

She turned and walked to the front door. When she glanced back, Derek had vanished. How he managed to pull that off she had absolutely no clue. The next few minutes were a jumble of reporting on the kids to their mother, showing Liz where the leftovers from dinner where, singing Mathew another round of lullabies (this time she used a Greek version of twinkle twinkle little star but hey it worked), gathering her bags and running out the door. She always got paid on Fridays so she didn't worry about waiting for money.

Once she got to the sidewalk she froze. She could feel the weight of an electric blue stare that was steadily becoming more familiar. "Alright Derek," she said to the darkness. "If what you said about what happened today is true I'll help you. I'll call in tonight and make a report to the Inquisitor telling him I'm going active and to have people on call if I need back up."

Derek listened to all of this from a distance, watching Kyla walk confidently up the road. In the darkness, she almost seemed to give off a warm glow. It was like she had taken a shower in liquid moonlight. Just when he had turned to head back to his own apartment, he heard three quiet words. "Sweat dreams Derek." Derek very nearly smiled.

**A/N: How was it? Sorry I couldn't update yesterday. My sister just got her wisdom teeth pulled and my parents are remodeling the downstairs. My house is a little bit hectic at the moment. Plus, I made a scheduling choice to take AP World History next year. This choice started feeling like a bad one when I got assigned six different essays to write in seven weeks. Now I've vented and I'm calm. Let me know what you thought about the DerekxKyla scenes! If you have any questions about any of this tell me and I'll answer them at the end of the next chapter. If you thought this should be modified at all let me know! That's what the review button is for. Review! Review! Review!xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, owning the books and renting some DVDs from the library didn't actually give you official rights to the characters used in those books or DVDs. If I owned the rights to any of the series involved in this story then you wouldn't actually be reading this story. You would have watched it on TV or read it in a book. Besides I'd be rich. I'm not rich.**

Kira could absorb energy. Isaac, as it turned out, could not. That was what had led Kyla, Scott, and Allison to the hospital that morning. Burns covered Isaac's skin. Scott reached out and absorbed some of it. "He's not healed," the Alpha explained. "But it helps with the pain."

_Screw that, _Kyla thought, reaching out a hand to Isaacs other arm. She didn't know Isaac that well, but seeing a kid suffer wasn't something she was all that keen on. Kyla had a bit of a gift with normal wolves. They were one of the species of wild animal that her mother held control over. She had healed a few before when they got injuries during hunts or battles. Taking a deep breath, Kyla sought out for the glimmer of supernatural energy that was Isaacs wolf genes and funneled in a bit of her natural power to give his healing process an extra kick.

Black spots swam momentarily in front of her eyes as the energy raced down her fingers and in to Isaac. She tuned back in to the conversation when Allison said, "How do we get what's in Stiles the hell out of him?!"

Scott heaved a deep breath. "I'm working on it," he promised tiredly. "For now though, we all need to get to school."

Allison nodded and they both began to leave. "I'll see you guys later," Kyla promised. She stuffed her hands in to her pockets and got up carefully to keep herself from shaking. It had been a while since she had healed someone other than her self. Honestly she had forgotten how much energy it took. Not to mention she was out of practice.

"Are you all right?" Scott asked with a hint of concern in his voice. The alpha had apparently decided to adopt her in to the circle of people that he cared for. Kyla took that as a good thing. Having werewolves that wanted to protect her a bit were a huge improvement from werewolves that wanted her very very dead.

"I'm fine," Kyla brushed off. Maybe if you took fine to mean Freaked Out, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional sure. "I just haven't been sleeping very much. I'm going home and going to bed. I already turned in my homework for today." This was actually completely true. Kyla tended to do her homework in large batches and turn it all in at once. Time in which she could actually do homework was unpredictable enough for this to be a god plan. Her teachers attributed it to gymnastics and dyslexia.

She walked out the door with the two other teenagers. "You guys be careful, alright?"

"You too," Allison returned. Then the two disappeared to reunite with Scott's mother Melissa and be on their way to school.

Kyla stumbled her way out the doors of the hospital to a quiet bench at the front and let her legs collapse under her. Digging through her pack for food left her with two granola bars and a packet of beef jerky. She ate it all and washed it down with a very measured piece of ambrosia. The empty feeling in her stomach faded away as the food hit it, and her shaking eased exponentially.

With a tired thump, her head fell back against the back of the stone bench. Her head felt weirdly light and fluffy and she groaned. The food hadn't been enough, and Kyla didn't dare taking any more godly food. Her temperature had already begun to jack up from the half square of ambrosia. If she had to guess, she would say that her blood sugar was probably swimming in a pit near Tartarus.

A slight prickle flashed across her skin and Kyla's eyes came open. She found Derek Hale looking down at her with a look that she could almost say was level with concern. When he saw her eyes open his face carefully rearranged it's self to blank. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Kyla nodded. "Fine," she needed to stop saying that. She pulled herself up in to a slightly more dignified sitting position. "What are you doing here? Visiting Isaac?" It was the explanation that made the most sense. Werewolves were extremely pack oriented. If a pack member was hurt they would all crowd around it and take care of it.

Derek nodded. "I spent the last few days trying to find Stiles. I thought I should come by." He was still a bit concerned for the girl's health. He had come out of the hospital and caught her scent. When he had found Kyla herself her heart rate had alarmed him. It was shallow and fluttering like a bird's. Since he had come over it had begun to level out slightly. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

"I'm skipping today," she said with a shake of the head. "Going to school is normal but according to reputable sources skipping is apparently normal too. I just can't win with this stuff." Her eyes landed on the car keys clutched loosely in Derek's hand. "Where are you headed?"

After a miniscule metal debate Derek ended up telling her the truth. "I found a sonic emitter in my loft. I'm guessing you know what that is." Kyla nodded in response to the semi-question. Sonic emitters were devices that hunters used to chorale certain animals in to the place they wanted by giving off particular frequencies. Shadowhunters used them occasionally, and she had seen one or two involved with hunts with her mother. "The only person around here who uses them is Argent," Derek continued. "I owe him a bit of a visit."

Kyla straightened her legs until they hit the grass and pushed herself up with her hands. "I'm coming to then," she said. "I've never met all human hunters before. Well, apart from Allison."

It was almost like she could see the private argument going on in Derek's head. Well, she couldn't see the specifics, but there was definitely an argument going. "Fine," the werewolf finally decided. One side of him evidently having won out over the other. "My car is in the parking lot."

"Excellent," she said. Walking when she felt as drained as she did was just not a great plan. The fact hat Derek had actually brought a car and not just ran there using werewolf abilities was a relief. "Over the river and through the woods to a hunters house we go."

* * *

The house turned out to be an apartment. They entered by breaking in which Derek accomplished with a level of expedience that Kyla very nearly questioned. She followed Derek through the house to a room with a leather chair behind a large wooden desk that Kyla guessed was Mr. Argent's study.

Before they had gotten in to the apartment, Derek had pulled an object that Kyla recognized as a sonic emitter from the trunk of his car and tucked it in to his jacket. He buried the point of the emitter in to the wood of the desk and then hid himself behind the door. Thus utilizing the time honored method used by many people who wished to completely freak people out.

Kyla followed his lead and tucked herself away in a shadowy corner near the window. She could have used a Glamour, but the main point of her coming to Argent's apartment was so that she could try to meet and talk to the man. Being invisible had the tendency to make conversing a little bit difficult.

They didn't have to wait long before Kyla noticed Derek tense as the elevator dinged to a stop on their floor. Kyla noted a weathered face, ice blue eyes, salt and pepper hair, and a gun clutched tightly in both hands before Derek spoke. "Lose something?" The two men launched in to fight and Kyla simply watched. She had learned from watching Jace and Alec that fighting between to parties where neither one of them were actually that set on hurting the other seemed weirdly beneficial in terms of macho male bonding.

The fight came to a halt with Derek's claws at Argent's throat and Mr. Argent's gun pressed against Derek's temple. "Why are you breaking in to my apartment?" Argent asked. Not an unreasonable question given the circumstances.

"Why are you leaving emitters in my loft?" Derek returned immediately. What Kyla gathered from this exchange was that both men appreciated getting straight to the point without beating around the bush. Frankly she didn't understand why the two weren't already working together. They seemed to have a similar approach to dealing with problems.

"I have no idea why that would be in your apartment," Argent replied coldly. He jerked the gun away from Derek's temple and displayed the fact that his finger was no longer on the trigger. He must have been telling the truth because Derek's claws retracted and he turned to face Argent as the hunter walked around the back of his desk. "I spent the entirety of the last two days trying to find Stiles."

Kyla determined that this was probably the right time to enter the conversation. "There seems to be a lot of that going around," she said, coming out of the shadows and offering Mr. Argent her right hand to shake. The Voyance rune showed clearly against her skin there. "I'm Kyla."

Argent's eyes flicked down, taking in the mark before shaking her hand slowly. "A Shadowhunter," he concluded. "I wasn't aware that this was Clave business."

"Technically it still isn't," Kyla explained. "No official Clave members are involved. This became my business a few nights ago when Agent McCall got stabbed in the chest by demonic ninjas. Human blood has been spilled. That makes it my business. It doesn't really have to be Clave business, though I have reported to the Inquisitor Robert Lightwood. I'm friends with his kids. Have you had any luck finding Stiles?"

"No," Argent said bitterly.

"Me neither," Derek admitted. There was a very brief moment of silence. Kyla could almost sense an alliance being internally debated inside both heads. "Okay," Derek said finally. "We're both trying to find Stiles. Mind telling me what you're going to do if you find him?" It was a loaded question.

"That depends on which Stiles I find," Argent said grimly.

Derek nodded, and Kyla sensed that the exact same thought running through both heads. _Whatever I have to do._

Argent's eyes landed on the safe that was sitting on the shelf. He walked over to it and examined it carefully. "Broken," he concluded. He reached forward and pulled the door of the safe open. Inside was a large silver case with a combination lock on the handle. It was the kind of case that Kyla had thought only existed in action movies. "This isn't mine," he said. Argent reached out and carefully removed the case from the safe. He moved to put the case down on the desk, keeping it level the whole time.

When the case was opened it revealed large evenly organized stacks of money. "How much do you think Is in there?" Derek asked archly.

"One hundred and fifty thousand," Argent answered immediately. "But it doesn't make any sense. We didn't take their money."

Kyla hadn't been fully brought up to speed on everything that had happened so she felt the need to ask her next question. "Exactly whose money is it?" maybe she was missing something, but she was pretty sure having large cases of money that didn't belong to you wasn't exactly typical of most people. Unless you were a bank robber that was.

"A Yakuza named Katashi," Argent explained.

"Yakuza as in the Japanese Mafia?" Derek checked. He didn't sound like someone who was all that surprised by what he was learning. After being thoroughly embroiled in the supernatural his whole life not much really was. he sounded like someone who was just trying to straighten out all of the facts of a situation. Though from the sound of it this Katashi was no stranger to the supernatural either.

Argent nodded in confirmation. "Yeah," he said. "He had a nickname-"

"You mean something like..." an unfamiliar voice said. Suddenly Kyla got the same feeling she always got whenever situations were destined to get way more difficult for everyone involved. Whatever happened next her day was about to get a lot worse. All three of them whipped around to see several FBI agents standing in the doorway. She guessed that the speaker was Scott's father from his hair and eye color. The guy looked pretty good for someone who had recently been stabbed through the chest. "Silver Finger?" he finished. Holding up an evidence bag.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Kyla found herself handcuffed to a bench in the Sheriff's Department between Mr. Argent and Derek. Deputies bustled around them as phones rang and papers were sorted through hurriedly. She was actually putting a good amount of effort in to not falling asleep. Being friends with Percy meant that she had seen the inside of one or two police stations. Once you had seen one you had pretty much seen them all. The food she had gotten earlier hadn't been enough to replace the energy she had expended trying to help heal Isaac. Her head was starting to feel slightly fuzzy.

"Miss Drawright," Agent McCall said coming in to view with a file. "Your file indicates your a minor and you have a few different emergency contacts. I'll need you to indicate which one of them belongs to your parents and or legal guardians."

"Um..." Kyla said. "Yeah getting in touch with my parents might be a little bit difficult. My biological father is kind of very dead and my non-official foster parents are out of the country. If you could find my biological mother in time for her to be here and be useful you would be the first ones to do it in about five years. Ten if we're being realistic."

Agent McCall frowned at her. "Well I don't know for sure but I'm guessing that your mother is probably still where she was six years ago when you and a few of your friends blew up the Saint Lewis Arch and wrecked a bus in New Jersey." He paused a moment as though trying to let that sink in for dramatic effect. "Now regardless of your parental situation we can't interview you without an adult present.

Kyla rolled her eyes. "Okay one, why would that be an incentive for me to tell you who to contact? Two; I'm technically emancipated so, if you're going to do something do it. And finally three," she bit at her lower lip and injected the right amount of fear and insecurity into her voice. "When I was eleven my friends and I were kidnapped and dragged across the country by a_ terrifying," _she let her voice shoot up a half octave and crack a little. "Biker man. It was an extremely traumatic event for me to think about. I would hate to have to sue the FBI for purposefully inflicting mental distress."

Derek's eyebrows shot up as he heard the show Kyla was putting on. Her voice was vey convincing. If Kyla hadn't already made it clearly that she wasn't the kind of girl to break down crying he would have been sorely tempted to bring her a glass of water and a box of tissues. He watched in semi-amazement as her lower li quivered, in the next moment tears had begun rolling down her cheeks.

Agent McCall sighed, looking uncomfortable. He mumbled something about paperwork he had to do and skulked away.

The tears stopped and Kyla rolled her eyes. The toughest tough guys in the world still hadn't learned how to deal with emotional teenaged girls. She could be highly convincing when she wanted to be. That was one of the things that had made her friends with Jace Herondale. The two shared an equal ability to talk themselves in to and out of trouble. Piper had always told her that she had her own brand of Charm Speaking.

"Alright," Argent said resignedly. "Any ideas as to why Stiles would want to frame us for murder?" Kyla just shrugged. The closest contact she had ever had with the real Stiles had been sitting in the same class room as him.

"Honestly I didn't think Stiles was smart enough to frame us for murder," Derek said, sounding slightly irritated. Kyla refrained from pointing out that according to Google both Stiles and Scott had already gotten him arrested for murder once and made him the subject of a statewide manhunt at one point.

Argent frowned. "To be honest I'm not exactly sure that's why we're here," he said ominously Kyla groaned. There were statements that you could make in kind of bad situations that made those situations better, and there were statements made in bad situations that jus made them more shitty. What Argent had just said made their situation more shitty.

He glance out the door. "McCall is going to be back here any minute, probably to talk attorneys." Derek shrugged and looked down at his feet. if he wanted to he could hire an excellent attorney. In fact, he could hire several excellent attorneys. However, it was something he would like to avoid if at all possible. "Say you agree to let a minor represent you."

Derek looked at the hunter as though he had gone insane. 'Why would we trust your attorney?" His tone made it clear that it was something he had absolutely no intention of doing.

"More importantly," Kyla piped up. "Why would we want a minor to represent us? Half of the minors I know couldn't defend the Big Bad Wolf in a trial against the Three Little Pigs," she glanced at Derek. "No offense."

"I'm not calling my attorney yet," Argent hissed. "I just want more time."

"Time for what?" Derek asked. Kyla was understanding that Derek wasn't the kind of person to take someone's word for it. He was suspicious of motives because people normally had bad ones. Almost no one ever did things just for the hell of it. Every action had a motive, and every motive was questionable until it was proven. Kyla understood this point of view. Most people she knew including herself shared it.

"To figure out what we're actually doing here," Argent answered.

* * *

Derek was not generally a hugely patient person. He had gotten better with his patience as a teenager when it became clear that it helped not wolf out and kill people. That being said, waiting was not his favorite activity.

Twenty minutes in to this lovely wait handcuffed to a bench in the Sheriff's Department, Derek felt a slight, warm weight settle on his shoulder. Glancing down he found Kyla's auburn hair spread across the dark material of his leather jacket. With a frown, Derek focused his hearing in on her heartbeat. It was fluttering at an unstable rate. His eyes focused on her, her chest was rising and falling unevenly. Her breathing sounded off.

With a tiny bit of maneuvering, Derek managed to twist his hand so that it was wrapped around hers. If he could take pain from her then he could start to figure out what was wrong. Derek focused on extending his healing abilities out towards her. In the next moment, pain was slipping from Kyla's fingers and up his arm. Black lines traced their way up his veins. The usual sharp sting throbbed through his body momentarily.

Then suddenly something shifted. It was as though he had been completely absorbed in Kyla's head, feeling everything she was. His eyes burned vaguely and a slight throb pushed through his forehead. Derek's mouth felt dry, and strangely enough he could taste something like grapes. His head felt dizzy and disconnected. Kyla's breathing eased slightly and Derek let go of her hand with a slight start.

Derek stared at the Shadowhunter girl in shock. If she had been feeling this bad ever since leaving the hospital it was borderline amazing that she had been able to focus on anything at all. He was forced to reevaluate his perspective of Nephilim pain tolerance. One thing was confirmed though, the sooner they could get out of there the better.

He twisted his hand again, examining the chain connecting his left hand to the bench. Pulling slightly confirmed Derek's suspicions about the strength of the chain. "I could get out of these easily you know?" he informed Argent.

"So could I," the hunter replied. "However I'm not interested in being the subject of a state wide manhunt."

As someone who had been the subject of a statewide manhunt, Derek could honestly say that there were worse things. At least to him. Of course, not everyone had been stuck with all of the horrible life events that he had. For example most people didn't have to worry about the possibility of being shot and poisoned on an almost daily basis. Manhunts were really just annoying. "Well," he said shifting impatiently. "I am not interested in being the victim of a seventeen year old being possessed by a psychotic fox."

Kyla lifted her head, the warm weight disappearing from Derek's shoulder. "And when I woke up this morning I wasn't interested in spending my day handcuffed to a bench in the Sheriff's Department, yet here we are. Isn't it incredible how interests change?" She shifted in her seat and Derek saw a silver pencil-like object drop in to her left palm. "I can draw an Open rune on the handcuffs if that's the route we're going with."

"Just give me a few more minutes," Argent hissed as Derek shifted to get the right leverage to break the handcuffs. Derek had long ago perfected the art of ignoring people he didn't want to listen to. It was part of how he had survived siblings and how he kept himself from killing Stiles. "Derek!" Argent whisper yelled.

"Fine!" Derek hissed exasperatedly. "But if something happens, don't expect me to risk my life trying to save yours." Argent just sighed and went back to scanning the room. Kyla looked up at him with bottle green eyes and nodded once as though his logic made sense to her. She didn't seem like the kind of person who had ever expected anyone to risk their life for hers. Her life was more centered around a group of people who could best protect each other by protecting themselves. Kyla's eyes drifted shut and she leaned her head back against the window behind her.

Argent glanced at Kyla in concern. The hunter was looking at her in a way that reminded Derek of the way his father had looked at him or his siblings the few times that any of them had gotten sick. When that look appeared it was normally followed up with a hand to the forehead and orders to retreat to their room so that the rest of the family wouldn't be contaminated. If the hunter's hands weren't chained to the bench, Derek was willing to bet he would be checking Kyla's forehead for a fever.

A few minutes later deputies began running everywhere and phones were wringing off the hook. Derek noticed Kyla's left hand contorting absurdly to draw an opening rune on the metal of her handcuffs. The angle had to be painful, and Derek knew enough about Shadowhunters to know that the Voyance rune on her right hand meant she was right handed.

"What's happening?" Argent demanded to know from he deputy that had come to open his handcuffs. Derek began hurriedly scanning through the room for the source of the panic. He tuned all of his senses away from what was directly near him. With slight difficulty he blocked out the roses and moonlight smell of Kyla, and the wolfs bane and gun powder smell of Argent. His senses quickly picked up the smell of bolts, screws, and explosive coming from somewhere behind him. He spun as much as he could and looked through the window to the Sherrif's office. A large cardboard box sat on the desk. "What's going on?" he heard Argent ask dimly. "Get down!" he shouted, flattening Kyla and Argent to the floor as shrapnel rained down around them.

Derek collapsed sideways as the dust began to settle. One of his arms was still pinned underneath Kyla's midsection. He heard her whimper very slightly as she rolled slightly, bringing her nearer to his chest. Derek watched as Kyla reached up with her right hand to grip her left. He stared in horrified realization that the handcuffs were still attached to her wrist. Her wrist had probably fractured when he had tackled her to the floor.

Kyla set the joint with a small pop and grimaced. She drew a shaky _iratze _with her left hand and Derek watched the bone knit back together. "It's okay," she said weekly, catching his eyes. "it's fine. Rather have a broken wrist then be blown up."

Derek shut his eyes and nodded weekly. He pulled himself up with difficulty and stumbled. It didn't matter that his healing was supernatural when he had been that close to an explosion. It was still a lot of abuse to put his body through. Argent caught him quickly. "Are you alright?" the man asked. Derek could actually hear a surprising level of concern in his voice.

Derek felt Argent's hand on his shoulder pull him forward, inspecting the damage to his back. It was a sign of just how much damage he had taken that Derek was tired enough to let someone else guide his movements. It was actually weirdly comforting to be able to shut his eyes and trust that the person near him wasn't about to endanger his life.

He knew that his back was probably a mess. He could feel pieces of shrapnel embedded in the leather and a few of them had punctured the skin of his back. A few drops of blood had leaked from the injuries and slid down his spine. The small wounds were kept open by the shrapnel still in his skin. As soon as that was removed the cuts would heal.

Argent let him move back again and Derek felt his other hand land on his shoulder. Pulling his eyes open felt like extremely hard work but he did it anyway, meeting Argent's icy eyes. "You saved my life," Argent acknowledged.

Derek nodded, accepting the hunter's best version of a thank you, and communicating his own version of a your welcome. He gestured to Kyla, who was trying to stand. "Help her," he said. Argent immediately moved to her side and braced an arm behind her shoulders.

"I'll be fine," Kyla managed to say. "The _iratze _takes energy, and I didn't have a whole lot to spare at the start of the day. If I can get some energy together I'll be fine."

"Alright," Argent said. His hand returned to Derek's shoulder and he found himself being guarded towards the door. Derek's ears distinguished the sounds of Scott and Stiles talking. He would have to catch up with the two teenagers later. Argent paused momentarily next to a broken vending machine and scooped up two power bars and a red Gatorade. He handed them to Kyla who nodded gratefully.

She ripped open the power bars and consumed them quickly. Then she unscrewed the cap on the Gatorade bottle and chugged half of it in a few gulps. Personally Derek ha never been a fan of Gatorade. When something was distinguished by color instead of flavor there was definitely something up, but you couldn't argue with the electrolytes.

Derek felt relieved when Kyla's breathing smoothed out. Her heart rate returned to a quick steady rhythm as the protein and calories hit her system. Her body temperature seamed higher than normal, but Derek thought that that could probably be attributed to the healing rune she had applied.

"Hey wait!" a deputy called, running out after them. "You three are still suspected of murder."

Kyla groaned and her head fell sideways on to Derek's chest. She buried her head in his jacket. "Half of their building just blew up," she muttered in to the leather. Derek could feel her breath ghosting across the fabric of his shirt. "Half of their building just blew up and they're worried about us. Gotta love human law enforcement."

Derek hesitated for a moment before he lifted his hand and began brushing small pieces of debris from Kyla's auburn hair. He lowered his head and said quietly, "another reason I'm glad I'm not human."

"How many of those do you have?" She muttered.

Derek sighed. "Way too many to count."

**A/N: What do you guys think? I'm sorry about the delay in posting this. I had to put down the dog I've had for eleven years yesterday, and I didn't feel like writing very much. I hope you guys liked the chapter! Review for me!xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Okay look, if you didn't read the disclaimer in the last seven chapters then you definitely aren't going to read it in this one. Just happily go on reading and falsely assume that I actually own the rights to any of this. It's a lovely day dream tat I wish I could share with you. Reality sucks.**

Kyla had managed to get herself out of police custody after several long hours of waiting. She had managed to provide suitable alibis for Katashi's time of death. Plus she had pointed out that simply being in the vicinity of two possible suspects of murder when the police came to arrest them didn't mean that she was guilty. It helped that deputy Parrish had been the one to review her case. The twenty year old had simply looks at her tired face, and the still puffy skin of her wrist, taken down her story, and gone to get her the right paperwork. This all took much longer than usual because well, the station had been blown up.

Derk and Argent hadn't been quite so lucky. Sheriff Stillinski had looked at the two men apologetically, but hadn't been able to let them out. Kyla had spent almost the entire time she had been waiting to be released picking pieces of shrapnel out of Derek's back. She had grabbed a pair of tweezers and a bottle of rubbing alcohol from one of the paramedics and set to work pulling shards of wood and glass out of his tanned skin. She had noticed the triskele tattooed there, and wondered briefly what it meant to him before going back to the task at hand.

When she was done there was enough glass in a pile next to her to reconstruct at least one decently sized window. Small beads of blood had seeped from each wound before the small incision closed. Kyla had done her best to splash each cut with disinfectant before it closed. She wasn't sure if werewolves could get infections in their wounds, but she honestly didn't much feel like finding out.

The sight of Derek shirtless was a whole other subject. The werewolf's muscles were damn impressive. She almost had to wonder if huge muscles were just a shared lycanthropic trait. Even splattered in blood Derek was definitely something to see.

Kyla had explained to Liz Point through a telephone call that she had been late for babysitting because she had been at the Sherriff's Department when it exploded. The women had immediately forgiven her and wished her a speedy recovery from the traumatic event.

The next day started out normally and then like most days that started normal, had taken a large turn downhill. Kyla had just finished competing in a rather successfully in a gymnastics meet and decided to pick up a large pizza with a plastic container of salad and three large water bottles on her way back to the station. It was probably pretty funny to an outsider to see her. A small teenaged girl in gymnastics sweats carrying a large amount of food.

The thought of Derek and Mr. Argent being stuck in the police station had been itching at her mind all day. Prison food had to be disgusting. The least she owed the werewolf and the hunter was some decent food. Besides, if Derek was anything like Maia, Luke, or Bat, then he would probably be eating _a lot_. Werewolf metabolisms were calibrated on a faster pace then human ones.

* * *

"Anything?" Argent asked from directly behind Derek. Derek kept his eyes shut, ignoring him. "Derek?" the hunter persisted.

"Just hold on," Derek told him, focusing his hearing.

Parrish's voice said, "The Katashi case is now a federal investigation. Anything that wasn't blown up needs to be stored in lock up. Sheriff Stilinski's out for the day."

"Excuse me," Derek sat up a little straighter as Kyla's voice met his ears. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience but I was hoping I could pay a visit."

"You were right," Derek informed Argent quickly. "There moving all the evidence. Everything's going to be placed in a federal lock up."

Argent sighed. 'Was there anything else?" he asked. "Anything about the murder it's self.

Derek understood the hunter's anxiety, the sooner the police could figure out that they weren't involved in Katashi's murder, the sooner they could be trying to stop Void Stiles from killing anyone else. The werewolf shook his head even though he knew the hunter couldn't see him do it. "just something about Stillinski being out for the day. And-"

"And what?"

"Kyla's here," Derek informed the hunter. He took a deep breath and noted that Kyla's scent was drawing closer. Clearly her attempts at talking her way in to see them had proven successful. Her natural smell was overlaid with the smell of tomatoe, garlic, olive oil, mozzarella cheese, bread, lettuce, basil, cucumber, and carrots. Derek's mind identified the smells as pizza and salad. A small smile quirked the side of his mouth. "And she brought us lunch."

The werewolf stood as Kyla made her way in to the cell block holding a large pizza box with a container of salad balanced on top along with three water bottles. "Hey," she greeted. "I come bearing food. It seemed like the least I could do. Besides," she passed three pieces of pizza through the bars to Argent and grabbed three pieces for herself before passing the box containing the remaining six pieces to Derek. When she continued speaking her voice was lower. "If you're anything like the other werewolves I know you're going to need a lot of food."

"How many other werewolves do you know?" Derek questioned with the same volume she had used.

Kyla bit her lip. "A few less than I used to know after the Praetor Lupus headquarters in Long Island was destroyed." Derek nodded. He and Laura had lived in New York for a while, and had made a few friends in the Praetor so he had learned about it when the headquarters were set on fire. Kyla turned and sat on the bench across from his cell. "Other than that," she continued. "My friend's stepdad is one. He was the Alpha of the Manhattan pack before he stepped down."

Derek frowned. "Lucian Greymark is your friend's stepfather?" he asked. Derek hadn't heard anything about Luke stepping down. The last time he had been in New York City nearly a year and a half ago Luke had just taken official control of the pack. Derek had liked the man. He had been kind and told Derek to call if he was ever back in the city and needed a place to stay.

Kyla was a bit surprised. "You know him?" Derek nodded and she shrugged. "Well anyway, I spent a bit of time with a few of his pack members. He passed leadership to my friend Maia Roberts after the war. I was at his wedding last August." She leant through the bars and handed a water bottle to Derek and Argent. Both accepted the bottles gratefully. The air in the station was incredibly dry and dusty after the explosion. Derek kept on having to rub his eyes to clear the dust out of them.

After a few minutes of chewing and swallowing on everyone's part, Derek spoke again. "You know if all of this is true," he started slowly. 'then people are dead because of Stiles." Derek had always been the kind of person who believed in voicing uncomfortable truths. Lies only made things more complicated in the long run. Not that he wasn't goo at lying, because he was. Lying and keeping secrets were unavoidable to a certain extent in his life.

"But is it really Stiles?" Kyla asked rhetorically. "I have a friend named Jace. He was-" she searched for the right word. "Well I guess possessed is as close as you can get, by someone evil. We all called him Sebastian. Sebastian forced Jace to kill for him, and when Jace came out of it he remembered doing all of those terrible like he had done them himself but it hadn't really been him."

"She's right," Argent agreed. "Remember we've had this problem before."

Derek frowned. "We got lucky with Jackson."

Kyla's brow furrowed. "Who's Jackson?"

Derek had to remind himself that Kyla had actually only joined their lose sort of pack recently and probably hadn't been brought up to speed on everything yet. "Jackson was mostly a pompous jerk," Derek explained. "He helped us kill my phsychotic uncle Peter the first time and asked me to bite him but instead of turning in to a werewolf and joining my pack he turned in to a Kanima and started killing off the old swim team because they had screwed around one night and drowned this kid Matt who was Jackson's master at the time." Derek gestured to Chris. "Then his sociopathic father took over as master and started killing everybody. Lydia got Jackson to change in to a regular werewolf and then his family moved him to London."

Kyla nodded at the explanation. Something was missing fro the story she could tell. Only alphas could make knew werewolves and Derek wasn't an alpha. But she figured that that was probably a story for another time. "I had to kill a Kanima once," she admitted. "It's master died and then the Kanima just went crazy trying to kill everything in sight. We had to take it down before it could find a new master."

Argent leaned his head closer to the gap in the bars between his cell and Derek's. "What we do next is going to depend on how much or how little of Stiles there is left." That made sense to Kyla. Glorious had only worked on Jace because there was enough good left in him that the Heavenly Fire didn't kill him. "Have you ever heard of the Berserkers?"

"Germanic warriors," Derek answered. His mother had told him about them once, but she hadn't gone in to very much detail on the matter. "They wore bear skins to channel their ferocity."

"They didn't just wear them," Argent corrected darkly. "They became them. A coupe years ago a family came to us for help with their son. This group of teenagers was doing all sorts of rituals with animal skins."

"Mundanes messing where they didn't belong," Derek heard Kyla murmur quietly. "That never ends all that well."

Argent continued on with his story. "Somehow these kids tapped in to it. But with Berserkers the human side doesn't last very long. They're not bound by the moon.

"He killed people," Derek guessed. Teenaged werewolves who only fully lost control on a full moon and could find an anchor to pull themselves back were bad enough. Even seasoned werewolves were more temperamental on a full moon. Creatures with no means of control had to be deadly.

"He tore them apart," Argent said. "eventually I had to tell the family that their son was gone. It took three of us to take him down nearly every bullet we had. When it was over I felt no remorse. I knew the boy was gone."

Derek turned slightly, looking at Kyla but talking to Argent. She was sitting on the bench outside their cells her fingers were twisting and pulling her hair into a complicated braid. It was almost mesmerizing to watch. "Would you feel any guilt?" he asked. "if you had to put down Stiles?" Knowing someone was capable of murder was a very telling thing to know about someone.

Argent didn't pause before answering. "Stiles yes. A nogitsune no. I hunt, it's not in my nature to let something that dangerous live."

Kyla completed her braid. The top part of it seamed to form a crown around her head before it trailed down her back in a soft auburn rope. She looked up and her eyes met Derek's. They seemed like such an impossibly bright, almost glowing dark green. "Pulvis et umbra summus,' she said. "We are dust and shadows."

* * *

"We're robbing an armored car?" Kyla asked Lydia, Allison, Ethan, Aiden, and Scott. She had done harder things but that didn't make this plan any better.

She had gone to Scott's house after her visit to the station only to find that the other teens were already heading back there in the descending darkness. The others had brought her up to date as they went and Kira had just placed a tracker under the armored van they were planning on stealing. Personally Kyla thought that this was probably about to go to hell in a hand basket, and had been keeping a mental countdown.

The countdown reached zero when a huge shape launched it's self out of the car and flattened Deputy Parrish who had been standing outside the doors. _Attention ladies and gentlemen. The shit has now officially hit the fan. _Kyla thought to herself.

"What the hell is that?" Scott asked. She felt inclined to agree with him. That man was a mountain with a shaved head.

"That's Kincaid," Allison identified.

Kyla sighed as the man mountain began searching through the contents of the armored car. "He's the bad guy werewolf am I right?"

Scott nodded. 'Uh huh." Kyla go the impression that this plan was seeming worse ad worse to the young alpha with every passing minute.

She, Scott, and Allison moved up behind Kincaid and waited for him to turn around. Scott flexed his claws a few times and Allison aimed her cross bow. Kyla drew a seraph blade from her pocket. She had been able to change in the bathroom of the station earlier and had put on jeans and a white tank top with a silver camouflage jacket over it. She got the feeling that this wasn't going to be one of those situations that could be resolved peacefully, but with the moon gaining strength she was as well.

"Give me that finger," Scott demanded.

Kincaid scoffed. Never the best thing to hear at the start of a negotiation. "Why should I give it to you?" _My gods. _Kyla thought. Was that man's voice even a recognizable octave? Did the sound measure go that low?

"In that car there's a briefcase with one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in it," Allison told the man. Kyla frowned. A man like Kincaid was probably used to working with larger sums of money than that.

Sure enough the massive werewolf chuckled. "The scroll inside this prosthetic finger is worth three million."

Scott glared at him, trying to make his voice sound powerful and authoritative. The tone was somewhat undermined by his choice of words though. "Give me the finger." He stopped, realizing just how that sentence had sounded and back tracked a bit. "You know what I mean!"

Kira leaped off the back of the armored car and latched on to Kincaid's back. The huge man shook her off the way a dog would shake of water and crouched down. His claws and fangs sprouted and his eyes turned antifreeze neon blue. "I guess negotiations are over," he growled. Then he launched forwards. Kira and Allison were knocked in to opposite walls and Scott proceeded to get the living shit kicked out of him.

Reacting instantly, Kyla launched her seraph blade at Kincaid naming it Zechariel as it went. She dropped to the ground and rolled out of the way as the huge man slashed at her blindly. "You may have the eyes of an alpha," he growled at Scott tauntingly. "But where's the power."

"Up here," Aiden called. he and his brother dropped down in to the fight. The two of them may have had some issues, but watching them fight was damn impressive. Kyla felt a cool rush of power as a shaft of moonlight landed on her. She gave the twins another few minutes to vent their anger with Scott and Lydia telling them to stop before interfering.

"Ethan, Aiden, enough." Kyla's voice sounded different in her own ears. She sounded confident, firm, and powerful. She sounded Like her mother. Both boys froze immediately and stepped back out of their attack positions. Kyla wondered fleetingly if this was how Piper felt when she was charm speaking. This new ability to make werewolves listen t her would definitely have to be investigated later.

Everyone was staring at her in shock. Kyla inched sideways slightly so that she was standing in the shadows and felt the power shot from the moonlight fade away like a caffeine buzz. The others got back to their conversation.

"You want him to come after us?" Aiden demanded of Lydia incredulously as the banshee stood between him and Kincaid.

"Scott," Ethan said warningly. "We've seen guy like this and trust us, he's dangerous."

Scott slid in to his alpha role as he stood up. "So are we," he said. He looked down at the huge werewolf cowering bleeding on the ground. "I think he looks smart enough to remember that." Scott reached forward and plucked the silver prosthetic finger away from Kincaid. He turned it over and a miniature scroll fell in to his palm. He looked around. "We're here to save a life," he said. "Not end one."

Everyone turned and began to walk away but Kyla called for them to wait a moment. "I have one more thing to do." She approached the bleeding Kincaid and wrapped her hands around the hilt of he Seraph blade embedded between two of his ribs. She gave a sharp tug and the blade came free with a sickening sort of _squelch. _Kincaid gasped and collapsed further in to the ground.

"Sorry," Kyla said in a sweet voice. She dropped down to kneel on the pavement in front of him and grabbed his jaw with one hand, forcing the huge werewolf to look at her. She used her other hand to clean Kincaid's blood from the seraph blade, staining the hem of her jeans. "You know," she said, examining the blade of the knife. "Seraph blades have never really been my absolutely favorite weapon. They're good for demons, and I hear they hurt werewolves like a bitch but I've always preferred hunting knives." She waited a moment to let that sink in. "Especially ones made from celestial bronze."

A look of fear crossed Kincaid's face. "Oh," Kyla said mildly. "I see that sparked something." She stowed the seraph blade on her belt, speaking as she did so. "But I have to tell you my favorite weapon is a bow with blessed silver arrows." She stood up. "Run and hide Kincaid," she advised. "Run and hide. Because if you give me or anyone else in this tone, and any of my mother's hunters find you, I will personally ensure that each and every one of them has one of those arrows saved just for you. And they won't be nearly as nice as I was."

With that she spun on her heel and walked back to where the others were waiting. Scott, Ethan, and Aiden were all staring at her with looks that ranged from confusion, to suspicion, to downright mistrust. "Alright," she said ignoring their faces. "We can go now."

**Disclaimer: Tell me what you think! I thought it would be good for Kyla's character to have a bit more development with her demigod side. The others are starting to get a bit suspicious. Dum dum dum dum. I thought her bringing Chris and Derek food was kind of sweet in a way. Did you think it made sense that Derek would know Luke? I thought if he and Laura had been living in New York before the series picked up then it would make sense. Tell me what you thought! Review for me! xoxoxooxoxooxxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxxoooxoxoxoxoxxoxooxoxoxo **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Hahahahahahahahaha... No**

Spending her Saturday crouched on the floor in her history classroom watching her history teacher cough up black blood was not actually the strangest thing she had ever done with a teacher. She'd had to decapitate one with a javelin once the last time she had tried going to school in New York. Watching Hodge die was on that list to.

Kyla had come to the school when she had received a panicked text from Kira saying that she and Scott were going there, and that her dad had been hurt. To be honest, Kyla had spent some time slightly avoiding most of the group members. She was trying to put off explaining her demigod genes for as long as possible, but the situation was looking like she might have to say to hell with it and just blurt everything out at once.

"Mom!" Kira shouted at the Asian women who was holding Mr. Yakumura. "Are you seriously giving Dad magic mushrooms?!"

Mr. Yakumura gulped from the bottle of Rishi mushroom that his wife was holding to his lips and then coughed out a huge glob of black gunk. Kyla shrugged and tried no to fee to grossed out. Being a demigod and a Shadowhunter meant that your threshold for gross went up exponentially. If doig something disgusting meant a solution to a problem, then pretty much no one was going to argue.

Mr. Yakumura stood and leaned against the desk wheezing. "Are you okay?" Kira's mother asked. The man nodded.

"Stiles did this?" Scott asked. His voice was filled wit a sort of resigned horror. Kyla wished she could figure out a way of reassuring him that the Stiles he knew wasn't responsible for all of this, but with ever second it was seeming less ad less likely that they would ever get the actual Stiles back.

"He wanted the last krieken," Mrs. Yakumura said, raising a thin dagger like object from the inside pocket of her jacket. Kyla couldn't even pretend to know what that meant. She had learned all she could about demons, Greek mythology, and Roman mythology because it all had a direct impact on her life. Asking her to learn about all supernatural things Japanese was pushing her limits a little. "I've kept this close to me ever since your friend disappeared."

"Mom you need to talk to us?" Kira begged desperately. "About everything.

Scott held up an old black and white photo of a Japanese women who looked almost exactly like Kira sitting by a truck while a young man in military dress stood next to her. Mrs. Yakumura snatched the photo from his hands and stared at it in shock. "Where did you get this?"

Kira watched her mom with confusion. "Is it Grandma?"

Mrs. Yakumura shook her head and Kyla got a sinking feeling in her stomach. She thought she knew exactly what was coming. She had seen it the moment she looked in to the women's eyes. Guarded, wise, distant and a little bit sad. Every warlock or deity that she had ever met had those eyes. The eyes of someone who had lived for too long. "It's me."

"But," Scott spluttered. "if that's you then you'd have to be like ninety years old!"

Kyla watched the older kitsune carefully. If she was guessing correctly, then this women was a whole lot older than ninety. She was proved right when Mrs. Yakumura spoke. "Try closer to nine hundred."

Kira gapped for a moment before she managed to recover herself. "Okay sure," she said. "Why not?" She looked at her dad with a resigned and slightly overwhelmed expression. "Dad how old are you?"

"Forty-three," their history teacher said calmly. "Though I've been told I look mid thirties." He tried his best at a smile.

Kyla simply let out a deep breath and pulled a desk forward so that she could sit on the edge of it. She could sense a pretty long story coming. Kira stared at her. "And you!" she started. "How is it that you are not freaking out right now?"

"Your friend has met many beings far older and more powerful than me Kira," Mrs. Yakumura said before Kyla could answer. The kitsune's eyes met Kyla's and one edge of her mouth quirked upwards slightly. "Your Nephilim marks may be more prominent Kyla Drawright," she said. "But I am still old enough to recognize a demigod when I see one." Kyla kept her mouth shut as Scott and Kira stared at her. Kira's mother turned to the desk and emptied out maybe a dozen pieces of a katana blade on to the hardwood. "The blade was shattered the last time it was used to kill a nogitsune."

"When was that?" Kira almost sounded like she would really rather not know the answer to that question.

Well as a great philosopher once wrote, "you can't always get what you want" because Mrs. Yakumura answered anyway. "Nineteen forty-three."

"All of this has all happened before hasn't it?" Scott said as realization dawned on him.

"Yes," Mrs. Yakumura answered, somewhat stiffly. Kyla had heard stories of foxes and wolves not getting a long very well. Like with most stories she guessed that there was some truth to that.

Mr. Yakumura apparently decided that they had reached a point in the conversation for a few sage words of wisdom. "Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it." She ad heard that quote before but couldn't remember where for the life of her. It would have to be Googled later so it didn't drive her insane.

His wife continued speaking. "it was in an internment camp during World War II in Oak Creak. Not too far from here."

Kira and Scott looked at each other quickly before the alpha spoke. "Hold on," he addressed to his history teacher. "You told Allison and Isaac that there was no internment camp at Oak Creek.

Kyla rolled her eyes. "He lied. Shocker. Think about it Scott," she said. "I've known you guys for barely a week and I've done enough research to know that Allison's family has a history of violence. He didn't know if she could be trusted. Besides, Isaac being there wouldn't have helped," she paused and looked at Kira's mom. "Foxes and wolves don't always get along."

Scott's eyes narrowed as he looked at her. "What about you?" he demanded. "Can we trust you?"

Kyla shrugged blandly. "You were the one who came to me for help," she pointed out. "I didn't come along and volunteer it. I haven't given you a reason not to trust me, but if you don't," she shrugged. "I'll leave and take a trip to see some cousins in Los Angeles." Scott was silent and she chose to take that to mean that she should stay.

"There was a camp, yes." Mrs. Yakumura continued. "They covered it up."

Mr. Yakumura dug through his desk and pulled out a journal and a stack of photos and other papers. 'When I was a grad student my passion project- well more of an obsession really was finding out the truth about Oak Creek." He looked up and said, "that was how I met your mother Kira." Kyla had to hold in a laugh, thinking privately that a show like that would be much more interesting than the one that had just wrapped up on TV.

"Where did the nogitsune come from?" Kira asked. Thinking it over, Kyla was pretty sure that she already knew the answer to that question.

"Isn't it obvious yet?" Kira's mother asked.

There was a beet of dead silence before Kyla concluded, "it came from her."

Kira's mother launched in to her story of the Japanese internment camp during World War II. She told of how she used her trickster abilities to steal food and supplies for the others. It was actually pretty fascinating. It wasn't everyday that you personally got to hear a first hand account of history. Of course, Kyla had heard a few from various gods, titans, and monsters, but they were all spiked with made up elements. The women took a break from her story to say. "I need your help with this Kira," she was arranging pieces of the katana. "there isn't much time and this is something that must be done before dark."

Kira shook her head stubbornly. "Not until you tell us everything"

"Tell them Noshiko," Mr. Yakumura advised. "Tell them what they need to know."

His wife looked at Scott with reticence and a small amount of distaste. "Wolves and foxes do not always get along," she said momentarily glancing back at Kyla. "And not just in fables and stories."

"My mother fights has been fighting an ongoing battle against Lycan and his children for a millennia," Kyla said. "Her side of the family helped to curse them all to change on the full moon. Yet here I stand with a wolf pack, hunters, a banshee, and a kitsune, ready to fight against something that threatens all of us. The most allying force is a common enemy."

Mr. Yukamura nodded. "Allies no matter how strange should always be welcomed. Especially when fighting a war."

Well then, if they were fighting a war, Kyla was on even footing. Especially if tis war was one with little chance of winning. She had been fighting a war that could never be truly one since the day she had been born. Just then her phone flashed at her that there was a text message. It was from Allison saying that Derek and her father had been let out of jail and were coming over with the Sheriff. "I'm going to the Argent's apartment," she said hopping off the desk. "Allison said that Derek, her dad, and Stillinski are going there. She wants help finding non-lethal hunting weapons."

Scott nodded and Mr. Yukamura silently offered her his car keys. Kyla gave him a quick, grateful smile as she plucked the keys from his hand. She had had to run to the school that morning and it would have taken a while to get back to the Argent's apartment on foot. Finding 's car, Kyla opened the door, climbed in, and took off.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, she was helping Allison spread an array of non-lethal weaponry and hunting supplies over the round, wooden kitchen table. The Argent family arsenal was impressive. It was nearly as big as the one at the New York Institute.

Kyla concentrated for a moment and her hunting pack appeared. "Here," she said, digging out lengths of rope, and several high powered stun guns, flash bang grenades, canisters of tear gas, dart guns loaded with tranquilizer, and tazers. Leo had had almost too much fun modifying this arsenal for her, but it had kept him occupied for a good six hours or so. "Add this to the pile."

Her quiver appeared completely loaded with blunt tip arrows that released sleeping gas. "You use a bow don't you?" Kyla asked Aliisn, separating out nearly a half quiver of arrows.

"Yeah," Allison said, lifting her own quiver from where it had been hanging over the back of a chair next to a compound hunting bow.

"Here," Kyla said, handing her the arrows. "Inside the tip is a capsule of gas that will release when the arrow hits a target," she explained quickly. "The nogitsune is powerful but while it's inside Stiles's body the gas will be able to knock it out. I don't know how long the effects will last but it's better than nothing."

Allison nodded, taking the arrows and adding them to her quiver. She looked down at Kyla's quiver which had already completely refilled. "What jus happened?" she asked with confusion.

Kyla didn't stop her organization of the supplies on the table. "It's kind of a long story," she rushed out. "Now isn't really the time to tell it but I'll explain later to everyone."

The brunette girl looked like she wanted to say more but was cut off by the arrival of the Sheriff, Derek, and her father. "In here!" she called. All three men came to join the girls around the weapons at their disposal. "This is everything non-lethal that we could find."

"Take it all," her father advised them all grimly as he began reaching for supplies.

Kyla pulled her hunting gear from her bag, slipping behind a large armchair to ditch her jeans and pulling on the hunting gear over her tank top and underwear. She buckled her feet in to her boots and wrapped the Shadowhunter gear belt around her waist. The time to get really damn serious had arrived. Loading her belt wit supplies took seconds. As a last thought she flipped her hair over, arranging it in to a high pony tail and then twisting it in to a bun secured with a silver clip.

"So," the Sheriff said as all of the other members of the hunting party made their own preparations. "What's the plan here?"

Argent answered which was a relief a.) because Kyla didn't actually know what the plan was. and b.) because she had used her teeth to pull open the gear fastenings along her arms so that she could draw on runes of protection, agility, speed, and strength. "Right now our best bet is for Derek to try to pick up Stiles's scent at Eichen house especially if he went through some kind of emotional distress there. Besides we can use Kyla's abilities to help track him."

Kyla nodded, finishing the runes on her right arm and changing over to her left. If she was determined to find something she would find it.

The Sheriff looked at her as though he was only just noticing that she was there as well. "What are you?" he asked in confusion and then shook his head. "Never mind. Is it a good idea for all five of us to go to the same place?"

"Well, where else has Stile's been showing up?" Argent asked. He was doing what all good hunters did. Isolate a place to start your search and spread outwards from there. Cover all locations likely if possible.

"School," Allison answered. "The hospital-"

"Hold on." Derek said, cutting off her list. "We did this already. He disappeared we started looking for him, then walked right in to a trap at the hospital."

Kyla finished her runes and felt their power begin to buzz through her body. She stored her _stele _in her boot as she considered what Derek had just said. "He's cutting off the board," she concluded. "it's like Pavlov's dogs. He's seen how you react to stimulus and now he's using that to control your actins. Getting us to repeat the moves you've already played."

"So what do we do?" Allison asked, a hint of desperation in her voice. "Just sit and wait for him to come to us?"

"Bad idea," Kyla said at the same time that Derek began to speak. "We can't." He glanced at her and Kyla indicated that he should go ahead. "The Oni will come for him when the sun goes down."

Sheriff Stillinski looked around at all of them. "Scott's working on that now with Kira."

"That's the problem," Argent said broodingly. 'We're all tying to out fox the fox." Kyla groaned internally. Where was Annabeth when you really needed her? Or Jace really. At this point even Reyna or Malcolm would work. Really just someone who kicked ass at strategy would work.

Derek just sighed and went back to contemplating the weapons in front of him. Kyla got the feeling that the guy could probably benefit from eating a large home cooked meal and maybe binge watching something on Netflix. She resolved to make him some lasagna or something when she got the chance. In fact, maybe when they had this all sorted out she would just do one huge meal and make everyone sit and relax. It was what she did when Jace and Alec had had a tough hunt and it always seemed to work wonders. Kyla was really remarkably good at cooking considering that her mother was the enemy of all things domestically normal.

"Listen," the Sheriff said solemnly. "I'll understand if anyone wants to back out."

They all exchanged glances. Allison and her father merely took on determined expressions and set their shoulders. _Pulvis et umbra summus._ Kyla remembered telling Mr. Argent at the police station. We are dust and shadows. Derek just shrugged as if to say_ my day can't really get any worse _and said. "Well I'm not going to be the first wolf to run from a fox." He grabbed a stun grenade of the table and shoved it into his bag.

"Apparently I'm carrying a light saber," Argent said resignedly, holding up what looked to Kyla like a very extremely high voltage cattle prod. She wondered errantly if Argent had ever seen Star Wars. A quick hypothetical situation of what would happen if Simon and he ever met flashed through her mind and she shuddered. That situation would almost definitely end badly.

Allison grabbed her things. "Dad, it's you, Derek, and Kyla at Eichen. Sheriff, you ad me at the hospital." She said it with authority and everyone moved to follow her instructions. Kyla remembered hearing over the past few days that the Argent family separated their duties by gender with the men as soldiers and the women in position to make decisions and be leaders.

Derek easily hefted his heavy duffel bag of equipment and Kyla swung her pack over her shoulders like a back pack. Argent lagged behind for a moment as the door swung shut behind his daughter. He stuffed several clips of ammunition in to his jacket pocket and grabbed a silver hand gun from a case on the side table. Derek halted and Kyla almost walked in to him. "Making sure you have a few lethal options?" There was an almost mocking edge to his voice that Kyla didn't quite understand. By nature of who was involved in this hunt they had opened the doorway to "lethal options". **_Derek himself_ **was a lethal option.

Argent locked a clip of bullets in to the gun. "I like to prepare for the worst."

* * *

They weren't in separate groups for very long. They had barely arrived at Eichen House, and Derek was just starting to push past the scents of Argent and Kyla when Argent got a text message from Allison saying that the nogitsune had broken in to the Sheriff's house. This news had naturally sent them all back to Argent's car and in that direction.

Derek had found himself crammed in to the back seat next to Kyla as Argent drove and all of their supplies took up the rest of the room I the car. He frowned, "I can smell something burning," he said. Given that his family had burned to death, Derek was a little bit more conscious of fire than some people might be.

Kyla made a soft hum in the back of her throat. "It might be me," she conceded. "Shadowunter Marks are basically burned in to our skin. I put ne ones on before we left Argent's apartment so it's probably that." She shifted a bit and unfastened the piece of gear that protected her right wrist and then twisted around so that she was facing Derek, and held her hand out to him. "You can check if you want."

Slowly, Derek reached forward and took the offered hand by Kyla's wrist. His fingers closed all the way around it, and he could feel the harder edges of the radius and ulna bones that ran up to her elbow. He tugged slightly and pressed his nose against the soft skin above her pulse point, feeling the blood pounding below the skin speed up slightly as he breathed in. There was a slight ting of burnt skin on her it was true, but mostly her hands smelled like lemon soap. He breathed in again and Kyla's ever present combination of moonlight and sunshine rushed through his head, but the smell of fire was still something separate. Derek let out his breath and Kyla shivered slightly at the feeling as Derek slowly lowered her wrist.

"What I can smell isn't coming from you," he said, trying to locate the source. "There isn't any smoke or anything burned. It's like someone just made a fire appear."

Realization crossed Kyla's face and she opened the top of her hunting pack, extracting a jam jar. Derek was confused for a moment and then incredulous as he saw that the jar held a large collection of merrily dancing green flames. Kyla carefully passed the jar to him and he stared at it's contents warily. He had never seen green flames in the natural world, especially not the kind that could be kept in jam jars. "We call it Greek Fire," Kyla explained. "It'll burn any where, even under water. That's part of what makes it so dangerous, it just keeps on burning."

Derek handed the jar back to her and studied her as she reached her arm in to her pack far father than she should have been able to. "What exactly are you?" he asked bluntly.

Kyla's shoulders sagged a little bit. "I'll explain later," she said. "I promise that I'll explain later. It's just that it's kind of a long story and you'll probably end up having questions. Finding Stiles is the priority now.

Derek would have pushed further but the car stopped and they all went to meet the others in Stiles's room. A chess board was laid out on the desk looking as though someone was almost done playing a complicated game. Most of the pieces were labeled with names and multi colored sticky notes. It looked like someone had labeled the werewolves red, the hunters purple, the Kanima/Jackson yellow, and the druids (Deaton) blue.

"What is al this?" Argent asked the Sheriff as he examined the board. "What are the sticky notes?"

"This is what Stiles used to try to explain to me about all of..." Stillinski paused for a moment. "You."

Allison looked up. "Well maybe it's a message from Stiles," she suggested. "The _real _Stiles."

Argent looked back down at the board and picked up a bishop labeled as Isaac that had been lying at the side of the board. Derek had noticed something that worried him a little bit more than the fact that Isaac had been marked as out of commission. "Do you think there's any reason why _my _name is on the king?" he asked resignedly. The way his luck had been lately he couldn't imagine that it could possibly mean anything good.

Kyla peered at the board. "Well, you're well protected," she offered, trying to pick out a bright side. "Though if I was playing black at the moment and you were my king I might be a little worried by the fact that if the guy playing white actually knows how to play chess then your one move from checkmate." People with lives so twisted with the supernatural just weren't born to be optimists. "I'm actually kind of wondering why my name is on the queen."

Derek looked down to see that she was right. The queen piece stood right next to the king that had been labeled as him. A piece of white paper had been attached to it with stark black letters on it spelling out Kyla's name.

"The queen has a larger range of movement than any other piece on the board," Stillinski observed. "Maybe he's saying that you haven't been around long enough for him to predict what you're going to be able to do."

"Maybe," Kyla said bighting her lower lip as she thought. "But like you said, I'm unpredictable to the nogitsune and Stiles because I haven't been around long enough. So how did I get added to the chess board? I can't have been on it when he showed you this the first time. I wasn't even in town yet."

"This isn't a message from Stiles," Argent said through gritted teeth. "It's a threat from the nogitsune."

Allison stood up straight as realization set in. "He's at the loft. That's what he's trying to tell us."

"And he wants us to go there," her father agreed.

"Night's falling," Derek pointed out. He had noticed the shadows extending through the windows as the sun faded away. His keen eye sight could pick out the first shadow of the moon appearing in the sky. "This could not feel like anymore of a trap."

Kyla nodded. "Not even if we were in a horror movie and we'd all just heard creepy noises from down in the dark spooky basement filled with inexplicable smoke and inconveniently placed cobwebs with ominous music playing."

The Sheriff shook his head stubbornly. "I don't think it is."

"I think you're opinion might be slightly biased Sheriff," Argent said frankly.

"Hear me out!" Stillinski demanded stubbornly. "What we're dealing with here, is basically something that lacks motive. No rhyme, no reason right?"

Derek heard Kyla mutter something under her breath and focused his hearing on her words. "It doesn't matter how old something is. Even something that's been around for a couple millennia has motives."

"Meaning what Sheriff?" Argent asked, having not heard Kyla speak.

Stillinski launched back in to his explanation and Derek listened to the theory. They were basically playing blind. Any idea was pretty much a good one. "What were after isn't a killer, it's a trickster. The killing is just a byproduct."

Derek felt is eyebrow raise. He could think of a few bodies in the hospital morgue who would disagree with that statement. "If you're trying to say it won't kill us I'm not feeling too confident about that."

"It won't," Stillinski persisted doggedly. Pun not intended. "It want's irony. It wants to pay a trick. It wants a _joke_."

"Strangely that doesn't make me feel better about this," Kyla broke in. Derek found himself completely in agreement with her.

"Well the sun is setting Sheriff," Argent pointed out. "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

The rest of them all waited outside the loft as the Sheriff went in ahead of them to put his plan in to action. "Does anybody have a better plan?" Kyla asked hopefully. "And by better I mean not this one. Speak now or forever hold your piece." No body spoke. Derek seriously wished he could come up with something, but nothing sprang to mind. Kyla just nodded like she had expected that. "Well, it's been nice knowing you all," she said. "If we all die as a part of some twisted joke played by a Japanese fox spirit, then I will look forward to having some good company in the afterlife."

Derek privately hoped not. Wherever he ended up in the afterlife was probably going to be it's own special corner of hell. Kyla deserved something better. Everyone was silent, as they prepared to hunt the fox.

**A/N: So what did you think? I'm trying to get an even balance between what Kyla thinks and feels, and what Derek thinks and feels. How's it working out? Kyla has promised to explain her demigod side. That'll be interesting. I'm not exactly sure how to write possessed Derek from the next episode in his interactions with Kyla. If you guys could send me a few ideas before I start this tomorrow it would be helpful. Review for me!xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxooxoxxooxxoxoxooxooxoxoxoxxooxoxo**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: If I owned the rights to anything you recognize that I have written about here, then I wouldn't be writing about it here. I'm pretty sure that makes sense...**

Kyla wanted to take this opportunity to point out every element that a non-lethal shouting match should not include. An angry werewolf was definitely one of them. Given past history, Kyla was of the opinion that werewolves and shouting matches would be better off separated by a ten foot pole. Also highly stressed parents with their children in the vicinity. The last things to never add to a shouting match are guns. Giving guns to people who are already feeling violent has the tendency to end badly.

One gun was being held by Mr. Argent as he pointed it at Stiles's head. Or, the nogitsune's head she supposed. The other firearm was held by Sheriff Stillinski who was doing the fatherly thing and threatening to shoot the man who was threating to shoot the body of his son. The Sheriff, Argent, and the nogitsune were all shouting about weather they were going to shoot each other. The Sheriff and Argent both threatening as the nogitsune egged them on.

"Strife," Allison whispered in a horrified voice.

Kyla remembered Kira's mother saying that the nogitsune fed off of pain and strife and chaos. If that was the case then this was a full blown emotional feast. The last sunlight of the day bled out of the room leaving Derek's loft dark. Splotches of moonlight crept along the floor, making Kyla feel like she'd drunk several shots of espresso

Seizing her opportunity, Kyla stepped forwards. She had held off on attacking the way that Allison and Derek had in the hopes of keeping her full range of abilities hidden. What Argent had said about the queen being the most unpredictable piece on the board had been playing over in her head, so she had kept her abilities close to the vest. Now it was time to play a few cards.

"Stop," she ordered, using the same tone of authority that she had used with the twins to get them to halt their attack on Kincaid. Nothing happened. Probably because Argent, Stillinski, and the nogitsune weren't creatures affected by the moon. Derek on the other hand, being the only werewolf present had frozen in place. Kyla took a deep breath, drawing in the energy of the moonlight and infusing it in to her voice. "_**Stop!"**_

Derek nearly collapsed to the floor under the weight of the command. He barely kept his footing, his body trying to form someway of heading the command even though it hadn't been directed at him.

Argent and Stillinski fell immediately silent. Even the nogitsune seemed to be choking around his words before he managed to get anything out. "Well well," he said with a smirk. "So the little Nephilim had some tricks up her sleeve. But that's not all you are is it Kyla? Oh no," he shifted forward slightly. "You're something very special aren't you?" His face broke out in to an evil grin. "Little godling."

"_**Shut up,"**_Kyla ordered, still channeling power from the moonlight streaming in through the windows. She wasn't going to be able to keep it up forever though. She could feel her Strength runes burning along her arms as their power was used up to sustain the strain her body was being put under. A familiar tugging in her gut had picked up, signaling that Kyla was mostly sustaining her power usage by herself. Time was limited now.

The nogitsune was momentarily struck dumb. Stiles's body bent over towards the floor, making silent coughing and choking motions. Then he seemed to recover and straightened up. "A commendable effort Kyla," he said patronizingly. "But your daughter of Aphrodite Charm Speaking is no where near strong enough to control me for long."

Kyla felt a prickle of annoyance at the guess that she was a child of Aphrodite. It was mostly an inherited reaction that resulted in her mother's distaste for the love goddess. Kyla herself ha no real problem with her, and Piper was one of her best friends. Of course, what she could do did seem like Charm Speaking to anyone who didn't know otherwise, and the children of Aphrodite were the only known demigods with that gift. "This is exactly what you want isn't it?" she asked.

"Well," the nogitsune tipped his head sideways. "Not exactly. I had hoped that Scott would be here. But I am glad you brought your guns, because you're not here to kill me," he turned to face the windows as five of the Oni appeared. "You're hear to protect me," the nogitsune slid behind Argent and Stillinski as both men immediately began to fire on the Oni.

Kyla, Derek, and Allison all spun around as three of the creatures appeared behind them. Derek's claws shot out and Allison held up her crossbow ready to fire. Kyla's bow appeared in her hands and her quiver dropped in to place along her spine. She loaded a silver arrow and drew it back. Screw non-lethal.

The next several minutes were nothing but a series of hurried images and sensations. It's easy to develop tunnel vision during a fight, especially for a demigods when all of their battle reflexes kick in to gear. Once adrenaline started hitting their systems, the part of their brains that were supposed to focus on details shut down.

She shot one of the Oni through the eye hole of it's mask and the creature had disappeared. Then she had received a large gash across the palm of her hand courtesy of one of the other Oni in retaliation, re-opening a scar from the battle of Manhattan. This caused her to drop her bow. The weapon disappeared before it could hit the ground and Kyla had quickly spun the charm bracelet on her right wrist. One of her familiar bronze hunting daggers appeared in her good hand and she prepared to launch back in to the fight, only o find that the Oni had gone.

Everyone seemed to be unhurt besides Derek who was bleeding from along gash that ran in a slight diagonal from his left shoulder towards his spine. the werewolf sank to the ground in one of the large puddles of moonlight to keep as still as possible until the bleeding had stopped. Argent went around Derek's back to check the depth of the wound and began to mop of blood from around it with a small square of fabric. Stillinski stood looking stressed and worried. A quick examination of the loft revealed that Stiles had disappeared with the Oni.

Kira and Scott rushed in asking what had happened which the Sheriff explained as Kyla twisted a cloth around her hand. That particular injury had been obtained under special circumstances and hadn't healed well the first time. It reopened occasionally if she ad channeled a lot of power, and the Oni's sword had reopened it that evening. Kyla had tried healing it deliberately, but the best she could get was a shiny pink scar. All she could do at the moment was keep the blood from dripping all over Derek's floor. Though from what she'd heard, her blood wouldn't be the first to hit this particular selection of hardwood.

Everyone else began to depart for their own homes and Kyla made to follow them but Derek grabbed her uninjured hand. "You owe me some answers," he said it like a statement, but Kyla knew a demand when she heard one. It was time to start spilling. So she allowed Derek to tow her to a work table where he began to lay out a chess board. There wasn't a chair nearby, so Kyla hopped up to sit on the edge of the work surface. "Where do you want to start?" she asked cautiously.

"How about we start with you telling me what the hell you are?" Derek suggested. Intensity was layered through his voice It wasn't quite anger yet, but Kyla sensed that they might be headed in that direction.

She searched for a way to diffuse the situation a little and decided that she might as well start with some background. "Have you ever heard the about any of the ancient Greek Myths?" she asked. Derek opened his mouth heatedly but Kyla held up her hand. Blood was beginning to seep through the white of the cloth she had wrapped around it. "I promise I have a point. Explaining things will be easier if you have."

Derek nodded, looking at her through narrowed eyes. "I read some of them in school,' he admitted. "I had to read the Odyssey in tenth grade."

Kyla shuddered, image from her trip across the Sea of Monsters flashing behind her eyes. Among them where a smallish hydra wearing a Monster Donuts bib, skeletal sailors, the giant braces of Chribdis, a stampede of party ponies with paint ball guns and bear hats, Grover in a wedding dress, a golden coffin full of Titan bits, a hellhound eating scrambled eggs, and a gods awful letterman jacket version of the golden fleece. "do me a very small favor," she requested. "And please don't reference the Odyssey."

"What the hell is your point here?!" Derek demanded.

"I'm getting to it," Kyla snapped back at him. "It's just that all of this is awkward to explain, especially this next part," she took a deep breath as Derek watched her expectantly. "Okay," she said uncomfortably. "You know how in the myths most of the heroes were only so heroic because they were really the result of some god or goddess who had come down to Earth and well," she looked for the best way to phrase what she meant. "Hooked up with a mortal?"

Derek nodded slowly, the start of a conclusion starting to form in his hazel green eyes. "Well..." Kyla tried to keep going. Explaining demigod origins really was incredibly awkward to do in front of a hot guy. "Like you know almost all myths are true. And since the gods have been around for like a millennia now and old habits die kind of hard... people like me exist."

"So basically," Derek said after a moment of silence. "One of your parents is a Greek god? That's what the nogitsune called you a godling."

Kyla nodded and looked down at her lap where she was pressing against the gash in her left hand with the cloth in her right. "My mother," she filled in. He seemed to be taking this rather well. But then again, one more set of mythological creatures proved real couldn't really be all that shocking. "Artemis. Twin sister of Apollo, goddess of the hunt, the moon, and the patron of maidens."

Derek's eye brows furrowed slightly and he began to extract chess pieces from a box he had stored under the couch. "Hold on," he said. "I thought Artemis took some kind of vow never to have kids. That's what the whole maiden thing was about. And how can you be half angel and half goddess and still be part human?"

She sighed, and let the cloth unwind from her hand as the blood finally stopped seeping. "There was this big prophecy," she explained reluctantly.

_"A half blood of the eldest gods,_

_shall reach sixteen against all odds._

_And see the world in endless sleep,_

_a hero's sole, cursed blade shall reap._

_A single choice shall end his days,_

_Olympus to preserve or raze._

_The moon shall split the wicked scythe,_

_her blood the darkness will dived."_

She quoted, and then sighed. "The oracle that predicted that prophecy is controlled by my Uncle Apollo. He told my mother about it first because of those lines at the end. Because it said that the moon would be instrumental in whatever would happen, Zeus granted my mother a loop-hole. One child after several millennia to help fulfill the prophecy."

"You were born as a tool," Derek realized, a feeling of rage on her behalf welling up in his stomach. A small buzz of a fly sounded momentarily in his ears before vanishing as a tiny flick of something brushed across his back. The anger intensified The Hales had been a close-knit and loving family. Children were cherished and protected fiercely until they could protect themselves. Being used as chess pieces in one big scheme was never in the cards. Unless you thought that way Peter did that was. Dimly he realized that he shouldn't be this angry. His eyes had almost turned blue and this wasn't even an injustice done to him.

Kyla simply shrugged as though she was used to it. She reached down and plucked a chess piece from the pile. "That's how it works. I was a queen on Stiles's chess board because I'm unpredictable to him. But to the Olympians, their demigod children are worth about as much as this," she showed the piece to him and Derek's anger built as he realized that it was a pawn. "My mother even picked a Shadowhunter to be my father on purpose," Kyla continued. "She was only allowed one child and she wanted me to be as powerful as possible. The ultimate huntress," she spread her arms. "I'm literally the mythical test tube baby."

"And this prophecy," Derek ground out between his teeth. "How exactly did that work out?"

"Not great," Kyla admitted. "But it could have been worse. My friend Percy Jackson son of Poseidon turned out to be the hero it referred to. he turned sixteen, which really was against the odds considering how things were going for a while. He defended Mt. Olympus and fought through a curse Morpheus placed to put everyone to sleep. The real hero of the day turned out to be a son of Hermes though. He really defeated Cronus in the end. After everything was over Percy made the gods promise to treat their children better so that was a plus."

"I meant the part about you," Derek clarified, through clenched teeth. He didn't understand how Kyla could talk about a battle, a **war **really like it was just something she had done one weekend. Of course the battle of Manhattan had actually pretty much only taken a three day weekend, but he didn't know that at the time.

"Oh," Kyla said. "I ended up doing alright. I got turned a Titan into a maple tree in central park. That was an experience," she held up her left hand, showing him the still open gash. "I have this for the prophesized part. I spilled my blood on Cronus's scythe. See, it had been reformed so that it was half celestial bronze and half steel. Two forces that weren't supposed to touch. My blood is pretty much the same way so it split the blade apart."

Derek took her hand by the wrist and examined it. "Why haven't you healed?"

She shrugged. "That blade was designed with the express intent of being sharp enough to cleave a soul from it's body and I deliberately cut my hand open with it. I'm not going to complain when the scar doesn't heal all the way. The scar will be reforming in a minute," she glance over his shoulder. With her sitting on the work table she was almost the same height as he was standing up. "Speaking of healing, I can jump start the one on your back if you want. Turn."

Derek obeyed the command and presented the cut on his back to her. He could feel that it had already begun to heal, but was interested to see what she would do. Derek felt cold fingers press against his back with Kyla's gashed palm over the cut. A rush of energy sped through him, like an injection of moonlight. He felt like a bolt of electricity was being pushed in to his body and then pulled out again. Channeling back through Kyla and then back through him. Then Kyla removed her hand. Derek could actually feel the tissue knitting back together.

He turned and Kyla held her hand back out to him, displaying a shining light pink scar. "I used energy from the moon to kick start my heeling, and then fed some of that energy in to you before stealing a bit of it back to heal my hand," she explained. "This is actually the most healed it's looked in a while."

Kyla waited for him to say something, but he didn't move or speak. He just continued to hold her newly healed hand, staring down at the puckered skin. After a moment, Kyla watched as his fingers began to trace over the lines of her palm with feather like touches, then flipped her hand over and traced the white scars from old runes.

His fingers left lines of warmth along her skin. Werewolves ran at a higher body temperature, and Kyla was nearly always cold. The warmth of Derek's hands radiated off of his skin and over hers as he switched to examining her other hand. Her fingers and hands seemed remarkably strong and pale in his.

Kyla looked up to see that Derek had switched to watching her. They just stared at each other. There are moments in life that always seem to contort themselves around the laws of time. Lasting for years and ending in milliseconds. This was one of them.

Derek dropped her hands and they fell back in to her lap as the door to his loft swung open and Peter walked in. He missed the feeling of her hands in his immediately and had to clench his hand to keep himself from knocking Peter unconscious and going back to where he had been a moment before. Instead, Derek took a step back and scooped the rest of the chess pieces on to the board. "What are you doing?" his uncle demanded walking up behind him. "More specifically why are you playing chess?"

"Back in his room, Stiles had a chess board with my name on one of the pieces," Derek explained tightly as he set the pieces in the right order to start a game. "If this is all a game to him, then I need to figure out the plays."

Peter hummed and turned his light blue eyes on Kyla. "And what are you here for? Moral support?"

Derek had to slam down hard on the urge to growl at his uncle to back the hell off. For some reason his emotions at the moment seemed harder to check. He forced himself to relax as he listened to the relaxed tempo of Kyla's heart. "Actually I was just answering a few questions Derek had for me," she said with a sweet innocence to her voice that was so perfect it had to be fake. He got the distinct impression that Kyla had used the comment to get under his uncle's skin by implying that Derek knew something abut what was going on that he didn't.

Peter huffed slightly, recognizing the play and trying not to acknowledge that the thought had irked him. "It's a little hard to predict plays when it's a game without rules."

With the feeling that he would probably regret asking Derek said, "What do you mean by that?"

Kyla had been observing Peter carefully. She knew how immortal creatures thought. After a while they got so old that human emotion and concepts fell away because they just didn't matter anymore. "He's saying that what we're up against is too old to play by human rules," she clarified. "Fighting against something that's been around for as long as this nogitsune probably has isn't like playing chess with a master. It's playing checkers with a four year old. They'll play any move to declare a win no matter what your rules are."

Surprisingly Peter nodded. "Exactly. This is a fox spirit. It chose to be human and supposedly that's something they can only do after about a hundred years." Derek continued setting his chess board and gave Peter an expression indicating that he should continue. Peter sighed as though he were being asked to dumb down something that should have already been painfully obvious. "If a kitsune is an annoying pain in the ass then a nogitsune, which is a dark kitsune, is a _freaking disaster_." He swept a black leather jacket off of the table beside Kyla and put it on. "Besides," he eyed the chess board once more. "Chess is Stiles's game. Not the game of a Japanese fox."

They both watched him go and Kyla hopped down to the floor with a sigh. "Dawn is almost here. I'd better get going. I need to catch a few more hours of sleep before I can deal with anything else today." Derek nodded, looking determined and strangely a little bit angry. Kyla took a step forwards, dismissing the anger. Following a sudden impulse she leaned up quickly and kissed him on the cheek above the line of black stubble along his jaw. Her hands were braced slightly on his shoulders for balance.

"You should get some sleep to," she advised, dropping down from her toes and taking a step back. "You look tired."

She turned, and was half way to the door when a blinding pain cracked across the back of her skull. Then everything went black.

* * *

Demigod and Shadowhunter dreams may both suck in their own right but they were also highly informative at times. While Kyla was unconscious her mind seemed to search out the details of everything that was going on in Beacon Hills while she was out. It was a fast paced jumble of images, but she still got the basic idea. No one had died but Lydia was missing. The actual Stiles was back but the evil one was gone. The twins, Isaac, and Derek had all been possessed by some weird nogitsune controlled fly which she guessed explained how she had ended up unconscious.

In other news, Lydia and Scott had figured out how to go inside Stiles's mind. Agent McCall had saved Stillinski's job, and Peter apparently had a daughter named Malia. Kyla hadn't known Peter for that long, and she didn't have all of the details on him yet, but she was fairly sure that that was probably going to turn in to something messy later. She also made a mental note to never tie an Argent to a chair for any reason as Chris had managed to break out of the chair possessed Derek had tied him to in about six seconds flat.

As strange as it was, Kyla woke up from being unconscious feeling rested and highly informed. The only downer was the throbbing pain emanating from her temple. She had decided against sitting up when the amount of movement required to break through the ropes that had tied her to a metal shelving unit in Derek's loft had made her nauseous.

After a few minutes she heard the muffled voices of Derek and Argent outside. She cracked her eyes open as the door rumbled. Derek walked in and his eyes immediately locked on her.

Put simply, Derek looked about how she felt. His eyes were blood shot and bleary with harsh red tear ducts. His shoulders were slumped and he was staggering. "It's okay," she mumbled, knowing that Derek could probably hear her without her trying to be that loud. Which was good considering her voice was cracking from the last several hours of disuse. "It wasn't you."

Derek's eyes didn't move from hers as he walked over to where she still lay on the floor. He picked her up off the ground ad began moving across the room. A tiny whimper came through her lips and she felt herself being tucked tightly in against Derek's chest. She could tell from his careful steps that he was checking each movement he made to keep from moving her.

She felt her body be moved to a bed and managed to tip her head sideways to put Derek's face in her frame of vision. He reached out and took her hand. Kyla felt pain slip though her fingers and her head began to clear. "Don't," she muttered. "I'll be fine. You don't need to-"

"Yeah I do," Derek insisted, his fingers tightening around hers, pulling the pain away for much longer than was smart and twice as long as was advisable.

When he withdrew his hand and made to stand up Kyla reached out closing her fingers around his elbow. "It wasn't you," she repeated. "It wasn't your fault."

She heard Derek sigh exhaustedly and felt his breath move her hair. He leaned farther toward her and Kyla moved her hand to his cheek. "It felt like it was me," he admitted. "Everything I did to Argent... it was everything I used to think about doing. After my family died all I wanted was to burn his down."

"Your using passed tense," Kyla pointed out to him gently. She had gone down a road like this one before with Jace. It wasn't about getting other people to forgive themselves. It was about getting them to realize that they didn't need forgiveness. "Wanted, not want. I know it felt like you were the real you while you were doing it but as far as Argent and I are concerned," she gave a little half shrug. "It wasn't really you. Just like Scott knows that the nogitsune version of Stiles isn't the real him."

Derek turned his head more in to her palm and Kyla opened her eyes the rest of the way to see that his eyes were shut. The werewolf looked like the definition of exhausted. "Come here," she said, shifting sideways on the bed with a considerable amount of personal effort. He looked at her as though she'd gone crazy but Kyla merely pulled the covers over her. "I'm half angel but you look half dead," she told him. "You need to sleep so lie down and sleep."

She shut her eyes and kept them closed as she felt Derek settle next to her on top of the covers. He gave off enough warmth to be considered a personal space heater and Kyla curled in to him, laying her dully aching head on his arm. "_Kalinychta," _She murmured tiredly. "Good night Derek." Then she let the blackness slip back in around her.

For the next few hours, she slept a dreamless sleep.

**A/N: What did you guys think? I thought I filled in some good background for Kyla n this chapter. Plus I brought her and Derek a lot closer. I'm trying to develop the relationship a bit more naturally though. To me it seems like all of his relationships start really quickly and then blow up in his face. I wasn't sure about the extra prophecy lines, so tell me what you thought. I can always change them around. Review for me!xoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxxoxooxoxoxxooxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxxoxoxooxoxooxoxoxooooxooxoxoxxoxooxoooxxo**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: If this were something I could make money off of I old have been writing it all day instead of doing my homework like a responsible student. Instead I'm starting at six at night. Deduce from that what you will.**

Derek woke up to the faint tapping sound. After a moment he identified it as fingers swiping across a phone screen. He shut his eyes tighter for a moment. The bed was warm and comfortable, and he could feel the comfortable weight of Kyla's head on his arm. For a few more moments, he could try to forget the hell he had been through in the last few days, the last few years really. When you thought about it, it was impressive that anybody Derek knew ever got out of bed in the morning. They all knew that their day would probably suck, and yet they all started it anyway. Derek had been doing that for almost seven years.

He reluctantly cracked his eyes open to find his vision obscured by a curtain of auburn silk. After blinking a few times the curtain resolved it's self into Kyla's hair. She was leaning on her side with her back to him, propped up on her elbow. Derek turned over and pushed himself up on his side so that he could see her phone. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Kyla started slightly and jerked back in to Derek's chest. Taking a deep breath she pulled away from him slightly and let herself fall on to her back looking up at him, her phone in her hands. "We're trying to play against a spirit that's too old to follow rules," she said slowly. "So I figured I would change the game."

Derek raised his eyebrows slightly. "How exactly are you going to do that?"

She showed him her phone with a determined look on her face. The screen was opened to her contacts list. "I'm adding new players."

"Calling in help?" Derek concluded with a question in his voice. Maybe it was stupid of him, but he had forgotten that Kyla knew people outside of Beacon Hills. It hadn't occurred to him that there might be help they could call in. There had never been help from the outside before.

"Calling for back up," Kyla corrected. "We're getting our asses kicked by a nine hundred year old fox spirit. None of us have any idea what to do. I've got friends I can trust for help."

He lent closer slightly, looking down at her. "More people like you?"

Kyla made a face and gave a small humorless laugh. It didn't reach her eyes. "No one is like me," she said bitterly. "That was half the point." She let her hands drop so that they were folded on her stomach and looked at him carefully. His dark hair was a disheveled mess. His hazel eyes were cloudy from sleep, but they looked less blood shot than they had been yesterday. The bags bellow them had receded slightly. "You look better," she observed.

Derek did his own inspection of her for a moment. The bruise like shadows around her eyes had lightened to the point where you could almost miss them if you weren't looking carefully. Her auburn hair looked like a thick tangle of red silk. His eyes landed on an edge of dried blood around her temple, and felt his hands clench.

He reached out and tipped her head to the side so that he could see the bruise forming there. "How's your head?"

"Healed," she answered simply. "It takes a bit more of a concussion to keep me out for that long." She turned her head back around and Derek's hand dropped back to the covers. A bright, inexplicable smile broke over her face. "Still though, that hit kept me out for a good four hours. I must say I applaud your work with a- what exactly did you use?"

Derek couldn't help the incredulous smile that crossed his face at the joking tone in her voice. He dropped his head back against his pillow and dropped an arm over his face to cover his eyes. "A crow bar," he muttered. "Your laughing about the fact that I hit you in the head with a _crow bar_."

"Pain hurts," Kyla said with a shrug, Derek could still hear the smile in her voice as she shifted to sitting up. "Laughing doesn't." Derek moved the arm from over his eyes and watched as she pulled her knees in to her chest. "Well," she conceded, almost as though she was thinking out load. "Unless you've broken a rib or something. Then laughing hurts like a bitch."

Derek's arm bent slightly and brushed slightly against her side. At some point while he had been asleep she had taken off the outer layer of gear, and was wearing a white tank top over her underwear. Derek did his best to shut down that line of thinking as soon as it had started. "How many ribs have you broken?"

"Hm.." Kyla said. She reached down and absent mindedly spread his palm across her left side. Derek's hand easily covered seven ribs. "Feel what your hand is covering?" Derek nodded, and Kyla continued. "That's how many," she said. "Plus two on the other side. I got half a Greek coliseum dropped on me last summer fighting some Giants. The other two I broke trying to fight a drakon during the battle of Manhattan."

His eyebrows shot up. "Don't you mean dragon?"

She laughed a bit and looked back at him. "No, not dragon, dra_kon_. With a "K".

Derek frowned. "What's the difference?"

"If you had ever gone up against one then you wouldn't be asking that question," Kyla said seriously. "Dragons are just big scaly things that breath fire and have wings. Drakons are more lizard like, and about twice the size. They breath fire and they can spit acid. Drakons are worse, **_much_**worse."

Derek sighed. That was all his life needed, something worse than dragons. "Well this is Beacon Hills," he said resignedly. "I'm sure to run in to one eventually."

Kyla hummed. "You know what's funny?" Derek looked at her expectantly, his thumb lightly bushing across her ribs. "My mom tried to sell his as a vacation." He opened his mouth incredulously to ask about exactly which prescription drugs a person would have to be abusing to consider Beacon Hills a vacation when Kyla's phone rang.

She seized it and got to business, switching over to speaker phone. Derek would be able to hear whatever she said and whoever was calling her anyway. There was no real point in trying to keep it private. "Clary! Thank the Angel!"

"Um," a male voice that Derek highly doubted belonged to someone named Clary said. "Nope, I was trying to burrow her phone. I must have hit the wrong button. What's up Kyla?"

"Simon put Clary on the phone right now!" Kyla demanded.

"Sorry," Simon said. "Your call can not be competed as dialed. Please dial the digit one before dialing." Kyla ground her teeth and Simon must have been able to feel her blood pressure rising through the phone. "Seriously though," he said. "She just finished training. She's in the shower."

She heard Jace's voice enter the range of the phone's speakers. "Who are you talking to Rat Boy? Did you say Kyla? Give me the phone."

"Give Jace the phone Simon," Kyla instructed.

"Why?!" Simon demanded, feigning offence. "_I _can talk. Kyla and I where having a lovely conversation. Kyla, weren't we having a lovely-"

"**GIVE JACE THE PHONE!" **

"Okay, okay," Simon muttered. "I'm never appreciated around here."

The phone was clearly transferred over as Jace's voice came more strongly over the line. "So go home," he told Simon. "No one asked you to be here. Besides, my voice sounds so much better over a phone than yours does. What's up Kyla?"

Derek could practically see Kyla struggling to maintain patience. He could hear her heartbeat begin to hitch up slightly. He couldn't blame her. From what he could tell the people she was talking to were basically what would resolve if two people who talked like Stiles with the sarcasm turned up to ninety million tried to have an argument.

"I need you to get to Beacon Hills California as quickly as you can," she dictated in to the phone. "Bring whatever you can. We're dealing with a nogitsune."

Jace's voice immediately turned serious when he heard that she had called with a hunting situation. "Kill or catch?" he asked immediately.

Kyla pressed a hand to her forehead and turned to look at Derek. "Kill," she told Jace. "It's been separated from the host now. Catch would actually work to at this point. We just need to get rid of the goddamn thing."

"We'll be there in three hours," Jace promised. "four and a half at max. We'll text as soon as we get in. Where should we aim to Portal to?"

"Here," Derek said simply. He didn't know what a Portal was, but he was guessing that it would probably be better if it didn't appear in a public place. "It's isolated enough."

Kyla nodded and took a picture of the loft and sent it to Clary's phone so that the others knew where to aim for. "Who was that?" Jace asked immediately. "Kyla who are you with."

"That's Derek," Kyla said by way of explanation. "You'll be showing up in his loft. Luke knows him," she cut off whatever Jace was going to say next which would doubtless be some kind of inappropriate comment. "I'll explain everything when you guys get here." Then she hung up and looked at Derek. "Reinforcements are on the way."

Derek nodded and rolled off the bed. "I'm going to patrol the woods," he said. "Argent thinks that he nogitsune will come after us next," he gathered a change of clothes from the cabinet. "If I'm going to be a target then I'd rather be a moving one.

Kyla got out of bed and reached for the gear she had discarded the night before. Demon resistant it may be. Comfortable sleep ware it was not. "That's the best kind of target to be, she acknowledged. "I'll come to. I've got no idea where anyone else is and at this point it's probably a bad idea for any of us to be walking around by ourselves.

Derek turned around and froze in the process of zipping up his jacket. He had known that Kyla was pretty. You would have to be a blind idiot not to get that. However that didn't mean that he was fully prepared to see her wearing nothing but a white tank top and underwear. Thankfully her back was to him as she changed so she couldn't see his expression.

_You had your hand on her ribcage _he reminded himself. _You knew that was what she was wearing. _Derek clamped down on that thought immediately. The feeling of Kyla's side under his hands was a very non-helpful thought at the moment. As was the mental image it dredged up of her head resting on his shoulder. Not sure what else to do, Derek reverted back to the chant that his family always used to drown out other thoughts. _Alpha, beta, omega, _he repeated. _Alpha, beta, omega._

When Kyla turned around, Derek's face was as blank and unreadable as ever. "Fine," he said. "Let's go."

* * *

Their lovely silent run through the woods was interrupted by the sound of gun fire. Kicking the day off with a bang. Literally. The shots were so close that Kyla heard them at the same time that Derek did.

They glanced each other once and Kyla gave a quick nod. Derek took off, moving so quickly that her vision couldn't track him. Kyla was fast but she wasn't as fast as he was. She sprinted after him and moments later was in a clearing with Derek and the twins. She crouched low to the groundas bullets kept firing and made her way over to the werewolves.

Derek made a few quick gestures about getting the hell out of dodge and grabbed Aiden. Kyla wrapped Ethan's arm around her shoulders and followed Derek to what she thought looked like an old coyote den.

"Where are we?" Aiden chocked out as Derek dropped him to the ground. Kyla did her best to place Ethan down a little more gently. The bullet wounds on both twins were gushing black blood at an alarming rate, and more black gick was leaking from their mouths.

"It's a coyote den," Derek hissed. The tall werewolf almost had to bend in half to prevent his head from hitting the ceiling. "Now stay quiet!"

Ethan apparently decided to ignore him. "Did you-" he had to stop to breath. "Did you see the shooter? Do either of you know who it is?"

"We were both a bit busy trying not to get shot!" Derek hgrowled out sarcastically. "Who else did you two manage to piss off?"

"Everybody," Aiden groaned. "We pissed off everybody. It was only a matter of time before someone caught up to us."

"You guys two?" Kyla said with mild sympathy. The people she had met recently could basically be divided in to the categories of friend, someone who has tried to kill me before, someone who is trying to kill me, and someone who will probably try to kill me in the near future. She understood having thoroughly pissed everyone off. Some of the gods and Clave officials called her very existence a crime against nature.

Derek huffed aggravatedly. "Well the bullets had wolfs bane in them. So if we don't get you two out of here soon the poison is going to spread." Both twins nodded in acceptance of what he was telling them. "Stay quiet," Derek commanded. He looked at Kyla. "I'll be back. If you can do something to slow down the poisoning do it." Then he was gone.

Kyla turned away from the door and looked at the two boys on the floor. Just her and a couple of poisoned werewolf twins hanging out in an abandoned coyote den while someone tried to shoot at them. Your typical social gathering.

She dug through her bag and pulled out a section of wild ginger root. she sliced the fibrous plant in half with one of her hunting blades and then proceeded to chop it in to tiny pieces. She put a cube in each twins mouth. "Both of you eat these." She had learned once that boiling wolfs bane with ginger could neutralize the wolfs bane's effect. Now she was just praying that this would work the same way. At least it couldn't make things worse.

* * *

Derek reappeared with Chris Argent twenty minutes later. "Well they don't look any worse," Argent commented. 'What have you been giving them?"

Kyla shoved the remainder of the ginger root in to the hunter's hand. "Wild ginger root," she told him. "I don't know if it's done any god but at least nothing seems any worse."

The hunter nodded and immediately began dragging one twin while Derek took the other. She was grateful for that because even though she was strong, each twin was easily twice her size. They got back to Derek's loft with Kyla clearing the way in case of more shooters.

Derek and Argent dumped the twins on to the couch and then all three of them stepped in to the side. Argent eyed the unconscious twins, and Kyla suddenly knew that he was seeing the teenagers not the werewolves. "I found these on the ground," Derek said holding up a shot gun shell.

The hunter examined it carefully. Kyla didn't know much about guns because she didn't much like using them, but it looked like a fairly typical shell to her. "This wasn't Uriah was it?" Argent clarified.

Derek shook his head and handed over the shell. "No. These don't look like her shells."

Argent's face suddenly went blank. It was as though someone had come and erased his expression like writing on a chalkboard. "That's not possible," he breathed. Kyla was about to ask what exactly wasn't possible but was interrupted by a loud buzz from the hunter's phone. he picked it up, quickly checking caller ID before connecting the call. "Allison."

"They found her!" Allison's voice was audible even to Kyla. "Dad they found her."

"Allison wait," her father demanded. "Allison you have to wait for me!"

Kyla quickly prepped several weapons, sensing that they were probably about to have to charge off somewhere. 'There's no time dad!" Allison protested before hanging up.

"Allison!" the hunter cursed and looked at the two of them desperately. "We have to go **_now_**."

Suddenly a great ringing popping noise sounded and a small group of people appeared on the floor in a groaning mess of limbs. A large patch of wall behind them was glowing with a slightly purple hue. The mess straightened it's self out and Kyla saw Jace's distinctive golden blonde head shining in the moonlight. he stepped forward. "Sorry we're a bit late," he apologized cheerily. His bright eyes narrowed in on watch person in turn, from the unconscious twins, to the slightly perplexed Derek, to the panicked Argent, to Kyla. He helped one of the others to their feet and brushed dust of his gear. "So what have we missed?"

**A/N: So what did you guys think? Back up is here! The Mortal Instruments crew has landed. It's going to be interesting writing how their presence changes the finale. I thought about having Kyla with the others when Allison dies, but Kyla hasn't been around beacon Hills for that long. She was friendly with Allison but not incredibly close so I didn't feel like their would have been much point to her being there when Allison died. How did you like the interactions with Derek and Kyla? I haven't written much romance before so I really don't know if it's any good. Review for me!xoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxxooxxoxoxooxooxoxoxooxoxoxoxo**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: So basically I'm just going to say hell no.**

Argent completely skipped the introductions and dashed out the doors to go and help Allison and the others. Derek was simply staring at the three teenaged Shadowhunters that had materialized in his loft. One boy and two girls. The boy was tall and wiry with hair blonder than any he had ever seen. The girl he had helped to her feet could have passed as Kyla's sister, small framed with red hair and green eyes. The other girl was tall and thin with dark eyes and long black hair.

The blonde stared back at him. "I know I'm pretty," he said sarcastically. "But there's no need to stare."

Derek rolled his eyes. This guy had just forcibly reminded him of Jackson. The redhead next to the blonde elbowed him in the side. "Derek," Kyla said. "Meet Jace Herondale, Clary Fairchild, and Isabelle Lightwood. Guys, meet Derek."

"Nice to meet you," Clary said politely.

Derek gave a curt nod and Isabelle sighed. "Can we just get to the hunting already? That's what we came here for. I'm supposed to be having dinner with Simon."

"Nice to see you too Isabelle," Kyla said pleasantly. "Where's Alec."

"France with Magnus," Jace said. "Thank the Angel they're back together. The warlock annoys me but at least Alec is no longer a moping mess. A few weeks ago I even saw him wearing a color besides brown or black for the first time in about five years."

Derek broke in. "Look we have people dying here. Maybe we'd better get on that."

Kyla took over in full out mission mode. "There's about o be a whole lot of fighting going on at Eichen House," she explained. "It's an insane asylum. The nogitsune trapped our friend Lydia there and a bunch of our other friends are there now trying to get her. For now that's our priority." She grabbed a pen from her packet and hurriedly scribbled the address on Jace's arm.

Jace nodded and immediately indicated for everyone to move out. "This will be excellent," he said cheerfully. "I've always wanted to see what asylums looks like from the inside."

"Give it a while," Clary suggested. "I'm sure you'll get the opportunity some day."

Then they were out the door and Kyla turned her attention to the twins who were still bleeding heavily. She examined the cuts. "How do we get the wolfs bane out?" she asked. Her general area of expertise pretty much just extended on how you got wolfs bane in to a werewolf. Getting it out again hadn't really been covered.

Derek dug a cigarette lighter out of his pocket. He didn't smoke but the lighter had come in useful several times. "We don't know what type of wolfs bane the shooter used," he explained. He tossed her the lighter and dug a spare one out of a drawer. "So we have to burn it out."

Kyla flicked the lighter and a small flame burst in to life. "Flames and poison," she commented. "Did anyone think to bring chips?" Suddenly she froze. An empty feeling expanded through her stomach. Everything seemed momentarily too quiet before her system readjusted. An image of Allison flashed through her head.

"What?" Derek asked, concern slipping in to his voice. He reached out and gripped her shoulders. "Kyla what's wrong?"

Her eyes seemed to refocus, jumping back up to his and locking there. "She's dead," Kyla said hollowly. "Allison," she clarified at Derek's questioning look. A knot formed slightly in her throat and she cleared it. "Allison is dead."

Derek's face went blank. His hands tightened on her shoulders momentarily. "How do you know?" he asked intently. "How do you know she's dead?" An inner part of him was screaming that someone had to check in on Argent. His daughter was all the man had left. Derek knew how that felt.

"I felt it," Kyla said. She knew her voice sounded empty, but there was nothing she could do to change that. She hadn't known Allison that well, but knowing that she had died still had the same horrible feeling that the death of any friend had. It was always a sharp pain followed by a sudden cold numbness. She forced herself to focus on Derek's face. "If I've spent time with someone," she started to explain. "If I've been worried about them, I can sort of feel that they're alive. It's just like a hum, or thread. Then if thy die I can feel-" she broke off bighting her lower lip. "It's like I can feel the thread break."

Derek looked down at her pale face. She was trying to organize her features in to a more neutral expression, but she wasn't quite pulling it off. Her lower lip shook slightly and Kyla bit down on it again. Derek could smell blood. "Allison is dead," she repeated. Without thinking about it, Derek folded her in against his chest.

Kyla moved in to him easily. Feeling someone die always left her feeling like she was drifting in the middle of the ocean. She didn't know how Nico DiAngelo could stand feeling that every time someone in his vicinity died. Derek felt solid and warm. She could feel his heartbeat against her chest as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Someone should call Argent," she murmured in to his shoulder.

Derek's arms tightened around her slightly and he smoothed a hand down her back. He felt slightly unsure about what to do. Even before the fire he had never been fantastic at comforting people. "He's there," he reminded Kyla quietly. "He probably already knows."

She took a few deep breaths and then pulled away, rubbing a hand impatiently across her eyes. Derek brought a hand up to her cheek and wound a piece of hair behind her ear. Kyla held up the lighter. "So how do we do this?"

* * *

About two hours later the twins were plus some scorch marks and minus some wolfs bane. It was dark out, but not quite full on night just yet. The whole world was a sort of grey indigo color. "There," Derek said burning the last of the poison from Ethan's back. "You should be fine in a few hours."

"Unless of course whoever tried to shoot you manages to find you before then," Kyla chipped in, putting out the lighter she was holding and dropping it on the table. "Which given how the luck seems to be running in this town seems more than likely." Privately Derek agreed with her. Beacon Hills was a living example of Murphy's Law. _Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. _

Aiden had started heading for the door as soon as Derek had put away the lighter. "Lydia's with Scott we need to go," he said agitatedly. Kyla et out a breath of relief that she hadn't realized she was holding. If Lydia was safe then that meant at least one good thing had come out of the night. She had to hope that Jace, Clary, and Isabelle had been able t explain who they were to the others because they had turned their phones off during the hunt.

"Are you going to try to convince her to leave with you?" Derek asked skeptically.

Aiden turned, his brother had joined him near the door. "I'm going to try to convince her to run and hide," he enunciated clearly. "Like any sane person would do."

Kyla quirked an eyebrow. "What about Lydia Martin screams 'sane' to you? The girl can literally hear dead people." Of course, Kyla could feel when a person died, which arguably wasn't a whole lot better.

Her query was very rudely ignored by all three werewolves in the vicinity, but she let it go. From the expression emerging on Derek's face, some epic speech making was probably about to go down. Knowing Jace, Percy, and Jason had taught her to never interrupt someone when they were on a verbal role. "And Danny?" Derek followed up. That at least made sense to her. She had seen Danny around the gym a few times to help the owner coordinate fund raisers. Kyla was pretty sure that Danny played goalie for the lacrosse team.

Ethan shrugged. "Allison's dead," he said harshly. "Stiles is dying. What do _you _think?"

Kyla frowned. She hadn't known for sure that Stiles was dying but if he was that would explain the still open pit in her stomach. She could almost feel his life force getting weaker. This was another lovely talent she had picked up from her mother. Sensing and connecting to life forces.

"I think that Danny won't believe you," Derek said taking a few steps forward. Kyla stayed where she was, waiting for the verbal barrage that was clearly coming. "And Lydia would _never _run and hide."

"Because of Stiles?" Aiden asked sardonically.

"_Because _of Scott," Derek slammed back. It was an impressive thing really. Derek didn't raise his voice, and he didn't get worked up, but you could still sense the intensity in his voice radiating out from him like some irresistible force. Like the rays of the sun. "You've been trying to find a way in to his pack," he continued. "Trying to earn his trust. Trying to fight for him. But you've had it wrong the whole time."

Realization dawned on Kyla the moment he said that. She was a girl who had fought battles and wars. She had seen what separated mercenaries soldiers and leaders. The difference was in what they fought for. Mercenaries fought for money, soldiers fought for leaders, and leaders fought for a cause. The most trusted allies of leaders were the ones that fought for the same cause that they did. "You don't fight for a leader," she said out loud. "You fight for a leader's cause."

Derek nodded to her. "That's why he trusts you already," he said. "Your fighting for his cause."

"What cause?" Aiden questioned. He had added a layer of derisiveness to his voice but Kyla could hear the note of desperation and curiosity seeping through. Both twins had wanted to feel like part of a pack or a family for so long, and now they were being given half a chance at it. Kyla ha heard it said that character was who people were under pressure, and this situation was the bottom of the Atlantic Trench.

"Scott's always been about one thing," Derek said. "Saving his friends. He will anything, and everything to save the people he cares about. That's something Kyla gets. **_That's_**why she's in. When there's no chance of winning Scott keeps fighting. When all hope is lost he finds another way and when he's beaten down he stands up again!" The intensity in his voice was rising as he spoke. Some people had the ability to speak like a whirl pool. They could make words an unstoppable force that pulled everything around them in to their orbit. Derek was speaking like that.

"You want to find a way in to his pack?" he continued. " You want redemption? Find another way to stand and fight!"

Kyla made a mental note to get Scott and Percy together some time. She got the feeling that those two boys would have a lot to talk about. "Soldiers of a cause follow orders," she said taking a step forward so that she was standing just behind Derek on his left. "Generals of a cause find a way to uphold it regardless. We're fighting a war here weather we like it or not. So the question is, will you fight? As a soldier, or as a general? That's what gets to be up to you. Because if you run, this battle will never be resolved to you. It will be fought in your heads until the day you die. And every day until then, you will find yourselves faced with the most torturous question any soldier who has run from a battle can ever face. _What if I had done more_?" She took another step forward and met the eyes of both twins. "The choice is up to you."

* * *

Kyla walked in to Argent's apartment and followed the sound of voices to the room used for weapons storage to find Argent there talking with Isaac. Derek and the twins were headed to the school so that Derek could meet Scott with a wooden box that could trap the Nogitsune. Kyla had sent Jace and Clary to the hospital and dispatched Isabelle to cover the Sheriff's Department. Thankfully Scott had welcomed the infusion of help as soon as introductions ad been made, and agreed with the plan Kyla and Jace had made to cover possible strike points.

"She used the first silver arrow head to kill one of the Oni," Isaac said. "I watched her do it."

"That makes sense," Kyla said, announcing her presence. Both males jumped slightly but then moved to the side so that Kyla could see the table. "Isaac you remember the first night I ever met you guys at the rave?" Isaac nodded and Kyla wiled her quiver to appear, extracting one of the arrows and showing it to them. "I shot one of the Oni with one of these. It's blessed silver. It looked like the Oni exploded but I couldn't tell if I'd killed it or just made it go away."

Isaac nodded. "So you both killed them the same way that you almost did Mr. Argent. Do you remember when you told me and Allison about one of your first gun deals the Yakuza?"

Realization spread across Argent's face. "That meeting wasn't one of my first gun deals," he said. "It _was _my first."

"The bullet that you used to shoot the Oni," Isaac started. "Was it a silver bullet?"

"Yes," Argent breathed. Kyla could see the memory playing behind his pale blue eyes. "But it didn't kill him. It just broke his mask."

Kyla's eyes narrowed as she thought about it. "It probably went straight through. What if the silver is like a poison to them but only if it stays in the body? That's why hunters still used arrows on werewolves it has to be removed before they can heal."

Isaac's head snapped up. "What if that's what Allison was trying to tell Scott?" He walked closer to Argent. There was a sort of feverish intensity in his eyes. "What if that's what she was trying to tell you? That she'd figured it out."

Argents fingers brushed over the finished arrow heads on the table. "These four were still setting when she went off to meet Scott."

"That's not an issue any more," Kyla said. Anger was bubbling up inside her chest. If she had realized only a tiny bit earlier that her arrows were capable of killing the Oni then Allison might not have died. She knew that it was pointless to think that way, what was done was done. However, it was still enough to make her royally pissed off. She held up her full quiver of shining silver arrows.

Isaac's gaze fixed on them. "Now we can stop them."

"No," Argent said viciously. He lifted one of Allison's arrow heads and examined the deadly point as light reflected off of it. The most deadly things were sometimes strangely beautiful. "Now we can **_kill _**them."

* * *

_What the ever loving hell? _That was pretty much the only thought in Kyla's head. As soon as Argent had pulled up to the school he had run for a high vantage point to use the arrows from. Kyla had given him some of her extras and Isaac had run to where Derek and the twins were fighting. Argent had yelled at her to get in to the school and help the others. Kyla had obeyed immediately. She had momentarily wrestled between helping Derek or going in to the school and it was good to have someone decide for her.

Upon opening the door Kyla's thoughts had hit they _what the ever loving hell? _stage of things. Instead of the familiar school hallway, Kyla she had waked in to a sort of Japanese rock garden complete with wind chimes and water feature. Scott, Stiles, Lydia, and Kira were huddled together at one end of the garden while the nogitsune stood directly in front of her surrounded by Oni.

Moving faster than she ever had in her life, Kyla made her way past the Oni and over to the others, deftly dodging the Oni's swords. "Okay," she said to the others. "Does anyone want to explain to me where exactly we are? More importantly, why is it snowing?"

"You have joined us in Bardow little angel," the nogitsune said menacingly. "A place between life and death."

Kyla glared. _No one _was allowed to call her little angel. Her father had called her little angel. "Oh that's fine," she said brandishing her bow. "That doesn't explain why it is freaking snowing."

"How exactly did you get here?" Stiles asked. The boy was looking sick and pale. His eyes were red and he was leaning on Lydia for support.

Kyla was actually sort of curious to see how this interaction would go. It was basically the first one she had had with the actual, non-evil Stiles. She cocked her head to the side. "Through the door," she said. "How else?" She looked around and saw that the Oni were surrounding them in attack position. "And we're fighting," she said, as everyone moved at once.

She polished off two of the Oni with her bow before they got to close and she had to switch to her hunting daggers. Eventually, she Scott and Kira ended up back to back surrounded by the remaining Oni. "How are we here? How is this possible?!" Scott asked. His voice was distorted by his fangs and Kyla saw that the alpha had fully wolfed out.

"Your asking me?!" Kira said, her voice rising at least two decibel points. "I'm just a girl! A month ago I'd never touched a sword!"

For all of that, Kyla thought the other girl was doing pretty damn well with her katana. "Don't look at me," she called, meaning it both figuratively and literally. Your chances of getting disemboweled went down exponentially if you were paying attention to the thing that might be about to try to disembowel you. "Greek and Roman mythology I can help with but Japan goes way beyond my pay grade." Not strictly true. Things couldn't really go above your pay grade when you weren't actually getting paid.

The next moments dissolved in to a whirl of white snow and slashing weapons. The only sounds were the clashing of blades, the snapping of fabric, and the low growls and snarls that rippled from Scott's throat. Kira was disarmed and Kyla whirled in next to her slashing at the Oni closing in, trying to give her an opening.

"Stiles don't!" Lydia cried out. Kyla turned to see the boy holding Kira's dropped blade, ready to impale himself. "What if it's just another trick?!"

"No more tricks Lydia," the Nogitsune rasped around jagged rows of teeth and cracked lips. "Scott, let your friend fall on his own sword. Do for him what he cannot do for himself. Do it Scott. Be his Kyzakuzi. Give up the game!"

Kyla let her daggers vanish and her bow reappeared in her hands, a desperate plan forming in her mind. "No," she said strongly. "Stiles don't," the Nogitsune let out a hiss as she began to speak but the Oni were wary of Kyla now. "He's too desperate," Kyla said urgently. "Whenever someone tries to manipulate you in to one move it means it's worried you'll find a different. So, **_come up with something_**_** else."** _Her voice sounded thick and powerful and Kyla looked up. A small smile played across her face. The nogitsune had made a mistake. This Bardow was filled with moonlight, and it was giving her power.

Stiles hands were shaking and trembling. The katana was in a white knuckle grip, and then he stopped. "I have another move," he realized. Stiles threw the katana to Kira who caught it reflexively. "A divine move." Then, at total odds with the situation, he cast Kyla a tiny smile.

The nogitsune let out another menacing hiss and focused his bandaged face in Kyla's direction. "How?" it demanded. "How can an insignificant half blood like you do this?"

Kyla notched an arrow and aimed it straight at the Nogitsune's head. Her hand's were absolutely steady. "Because you got something wrong," she said. "I've never been a daughter of Aphrodite. I'm the daughter of Artemis."

"You have to stop fighting them," Stiles said urgently as Lydia moved back to his side to help him stand. "It looks real, and it feels real, but Scott you've got to trust me it's an illusion."

Well, Kyla supposed that probably explained the pamphlet about business on the ground and the desk in the corner. Though the snow was left as a mystery. Ever since her encounters with Khione, she just hadn't been able to view the fluffy white substance the same way.

Then began the longest and most painful ten foot walk of her life. All of them stumbled forwards passed the Oni. Kyla flinched and nearly buckled as the burning pain of their swords cut through her. Really the rest of them got off easy compared to Scott. The alpha went first, taking the brunt of the attack the way that any leader would. He didn't ever question it. He simply trusted Stiles, and led the way. This action in and of it's self confirmed everything that Derek had said about Scott earlier in Kyla's eyes. The boy was a leader. it was as simple as that.

Then they managed to break through the doors, and were back in the familiar school hallways. She, Kira, and Scott immediately checked themselves for injuries. All that remained was a sort of phantom burning where the cuts used to be. "We're okay," Scott said with wonderment, almost questioning their fortune.

With good reason as it turned out. In the next moment the alpha was thrown in to a wall of lockers. A livid looking Void Stiles had appeared behind him and proceeded to punch out Kira. Kyla fired at him but he knocked the arrow aside. "This was _my _game," he said furiously. "You think you can beat me at my game?"

Kyla immediately pushed Stiles and Lydia behind her and all three began backing down the hallway, Void Stiles in pursuit. "Devine move?" he said derisively. "Devine move? You seriously think you have any moves at all?" Kyla launched another arrow but he batted it aside. "You can defeat the Oni," he said. "But me? I'm ovcer a thousand years old**_ you cannot kill me_**!"

"I've beaten older," Kyla said coming to halt. "And we don't have to**_ kill_ **you."

Void Stiles froze. "What?" he asked dangerously.

"You forgot about the scroll," Stiles said.

Lydia finished. "The Shujinda Scroll."

Cold shock and realization spread across Void Stiles's face as Kyla notched another arrow and pointed it straight at where his heart should be. "Change the host."

"You can't be a fox and a wolf," Stiles finished. He sounded set and determined.

That's when Scott appeared, digging his claws in to the Nogitsunes neck and wrist, burying his sharp wolf teeth in to his shoulder. Kira drove her katana through his stomach and Kyla let her arrow fly. It buried it's self in it's chest all the way up to the fletching. A perfect bulls eyes. The creature shouted in pain and outrage stumbling where he stood. Kira pulled her sword free as Void Stiles crumpled to his knees. A solitary fly buzzed from his mouth and buzzed down the hallway until Isaac appeared, shutting it securely in a wooden box and twisting the lid shut.

They all stared in shock as the Nogitsune convulsed and jerked, dropping to his knees. Then he went still. His skin began to wrinkle and crack like old plaster. Then he exploded and vanished in to a cloud of black mist. The mist dissipated, and then vanished. Leaving no sign that it had ever existed at all.

Stiles collapsed, his eyes rolling back in to his head. Everyone dropped to the floor next to him and Kyla hurriedly checked his pulse. It was pounding away in his wrist and his chest was rising and falling evenly. "He's alright," she concluded. "Jut unconscious. I'm going out to check on the others."

When she got outside, her heart dropped in to her stomach. Ethan was on the ground supporting his brother. Derek was crouched beside them and Argent was standing near by. She flew down the steps and knelt at Ethan's other side. Black blood was pouring from his mouth and there was a gaping hole in his stomach. "Does it hurt you as much as it hurts me?" he managed to ask his brother

Ethan nodded, not trying to stop the tears pouring down his cheeks. "Okay," Aiden said with a chocked laugh. "Lydia never believed us. We're not good guys anyways," he concluded. Ethan half chocked on a strangled laugh.

After a moment of silence Derek spoke. "She'll believe me." Kyla glanced up at him quickly. His hazel eyes were steadfast, determined to stay with his pack member until the end. That's what Aiden finally was in the end. A member of the pack.

Aiden nodded and closed his eyes, seeming to find some comfort in that. Ethan dropped his forehead against his brothers, his body shaking with sobs. Aiden was shuddering as though he was cold, and Kyla rubbed his back, wishing desperately that she could do something more for either of them. "Shhhhhh," Ethan told his brother gently.

Then he was gone. Kyla felt the ground go unsteady beneath her for the second time that day. Tears stung in her eyes making her vision blurry. Ethan crumpled over, still holding his brother, sobbing silently in to his chest. Kyla lent over and kissed Aiden's forehead gently. "Ave atque vale," she said pulling back. "Hail and fairwell Aiden." Kyla knew that the werewolf boy wasn't a Shadowhunter, but he had been a warrior, and he deserved a warriors blessing. Really he deserved more than that.

Her hands shook slightly as she cupped them over Aiden's mouth, whispering an old blessing. It was one her mother had taught he a long time ago. The same one used on Zoe Nightshade. A small amount of silver mist was captured in her palms and Kyla brought her cupped hands to her mouth whispering the last lines of the blessing. _Please, _she prayed to her mother. _Please. I hardly ever ask you for anything just please. Do this for me. Do it for Aiden and his brother. Prove you care. _Then she released the mist and watched it float upwards towards the heavens. After a long moment, a new cluster of stars rearranged themselves into a single shape. It was a paw with talons extended. The paw of a wolf.

Kyla felt slightly dizzy. A warm hand was placed on her shoulder, and she leaned back in to it. She allowed Derek to take the majority of her wait as she stood up. Strong arms wound their way around her waist and held her against his side. Kyla rested her head against his shoulder and studied the new shape in the stars. _Thank you, _she thought. _For once, thank you._

* * *

It was always hardest to deal with the aftermath. In the process of catastrophic things you can't think about what will come next. All you can think about is surviving. And then the storm passes, and the earth resettles. The sun comes up again. That's the time that's hardest. The time when everything catches up to you, and you have to figure out how to pick up the debris.

Kyla had let Derek take her back to her apartment that night. She had unlocked the door and gestured for him to go in, and he had. The two of them had collapsed on the couch and Kyla had curled into a ball with her head on his chest. The only thing she had said was "stay."

He looked down at her and wrapped both arms around her, pulling her body half in to his lap. He had buried his face against the crook of her neck and pressed his lips against her collar bone, and then to her pulse point until his mouth was next to her ear. "Okay."

Neither one of them had moved until the first weak light of the sun had begun to stream through the windows.

Eventually Kyla moved sitting up straight and rubbing her bleary eyes. Derek stretched out his arm. The limb had long since lost all sense of feeling but he didn't really care. "I have to change," Kyla murmured. She got up and moved in to her room, shucking off her gear as she did so. Derek stood up and moved to lean against the counter. He waited for maybe fifteen minutes, listening to the sound of Kyla getting changed, and getting ready to start a new day. That was really all you could do after a battle. Get up and keep moving. If you let it stop you then you hadn't really won.

Soon she reemerged in a white dress that Isabelle had given her one year. If you looked closely enough, Kyla knew that tiny gold threads formed miniscule runes of morning. To most people, the dress looked a lot like a simply white sun dress, but to a Shadowhunter it was funeral clothing. She stepped quietly in to her kitchen and began to cut an apple for breakfast.

Derek's fingers reached out and brushed across one of the thin straps of the dress, examining the tiny runes. "Why white?" he asked.

Kyla took a deep breath and looked up to meet his eyes. They seemed more deeply green than normal. Like the ocean after a storm. "It's tradition," she explained quietly. "Shadowhunters use a different system. We even have a nursery rhyme for it.

"Yeah?" Derek said curiously. "How's it go?" His fingers brushed her hair back over her shoulders as he gazed at her expectantly.

Kyla took a deep breath and began the rhyme she ha learned as a little girl;

_"Black for hunting through the night._

_For death and morning, the color is white._

_Gold for a bride in her wedding gown._

_Red to call enchantment down._

_White silk when our bodies burn._

_Blue banners when our lost return_

_Flame for the birth of a Nephilim,_

_and to wash away our sins._

_Grey for knowledge best untold._

_Bone for those who don't grow old._

_Saffron lights the victory march,_

_Green will mend our broken hearts._

_Silver for the demon towers,_

_Bronze to summon wicked powers."_

She shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea who came up with it. It's just what we use."

Derek nodded and drew his hand back from her shoulder, folding his arms together on the counter as Kyla finished making her breakfast. She slid a bowl of fruit to him and he took it gratefully. They ate in comfortable silence. They were both basically too drained to want to talk. Besides, after a battle, witnessing one death, and experiencing another one, it was hard to know exactly what to say.

Isabelle, Jace, and Clary each passed through the apartment to say good bye before heading back to New York. Jace had shaken Derek's hand and wrapped Kyla in a tight hug before standing by the door for the girls to say good bye. "Tell Simon hi for me," she told both girls before sending them on their way. It was hard to watch them leave, but she knew that they would always be around if she needed them.

Before they had left, Clary had jotted down a phone number and an address fro Derek, telling him to use them if he ever wanted to get in touch with Luke. "I'll tell him I saw you," she said with a friendly smile.

Isabelle merely gave a cat like grin and said. "Bye Kyla. See you Wolfy," before flouncing out the door.

Isaac had texted everybody telling them that he and Argent where taking the box containing the nogitsune to France. Kyla texted them both Magnus's address and told them to go to the warlock for help disposing of the tin for good. She also sent a message to Alec telling him to expect Argent and Isaac in a few days time.

Kyla figured she would see exactly how damaged everyone was once she actually got to school. She swung her bag over her shoulders and Derek stood up. "I'm driving you to school," he stated. It wasn't a request or an offer so Kyla didn't treat it like one. Instead she nodded and walked out to his car.

When they arrived at the school, Derek parked and got out of the car before she could. He opened the passenger door for and stepped to the side so that she could get out. Kyla stepped from the car and leaned back against the side of the car, as Derek reached around her and shut the door before narrowing his eyes at the entrance to the school.

Kyla realized with a slight jolt that he was being protective of her. The werewolf was actually worrying that she wouldn't be safe. She reached up and put her palm against his cheek, guiding his head back so that he was looking down at her. "Hey," she said quietly. "I'll be fine. The scariest thing that can be in there now is Coach Finstock. Though to be honest I'm not entirely sure he's human either." This was true. Kyla was almost ready to put money on him being Coach Hedge's long lost brother.

A low growl rumbled slightly through Derek's chest and his eyes flashed bright blue momentarily. Apparently her attempt at humor hadn't been appreciated. The worried look stayed hovering in Derek's eyes so Kyla did the best thing she could think of to wipe it away. She lent p on her tip toes and pressed her lips lightly against his.

For a moment, Derek stayed frozen in surprise, but when she didn't move away his arms slid around her. One circled her waist and the other slid up to tangle in her hair, leaving a tingling trail up her spine. Kyla brushed her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck and let herself have a moment to drown in the feeling of Derek's mouth moving with hers. His hands were burningly warm against her skin through the material of her dress, and Kyla found herself unable to doncentrate on anything else.

When oxygen became a necessity, Kyla dropped down on to the flats of her feet and pulled away to catch her breath. Derek's eys were still shut tight and when he opened them again they were electric blue. The school bell rang and Kyla placed a last quick kiss on his lips. "Pick me up after school?" she asked. Derek nodded mutely and she smiled before slipping away.

Maybe this aftermath she wouldn't have to survive alone.

* * *

Derek didn't remember going back to the school and finding Kyla and Stiles in an Empty classroom. He just remembered the nightmare at his loft and feeling that he needed to tell Kyla about it. "It was a dream," he said, sitting on a lo bench by the chalk board. "Actually it was more like a nightmare."

"Okay," Kyla said gently, her green eyes seemed lighter than before. She was sitting next to him and brushing her hand up and down his back in a soothing gesture. "Do you want to tell us what happened?"

He took a deep breath, "It started with these hunters that caught Peter and me. After we left my sister Cora in South America." Stiles nodded, as he could remember knowing Cora and Kyla merely looked at him, encouraging him to go on. "It was a family of them led by a guy named Severo. They broke in to my loft," he continued describing his dream. Being thrown against his table, and telling the hunters that they would have to kill him before he told them where to find Cora. He told about how confused he had been when Severo and his men looked confused and asked who the hell Cora was. Then he described the smoke filling the air, the shouts, gun fire, and snarling and the bullet that had pierced his stomach. Kyla squeezed his hand comfortingly then.

"So what was it?" Stiles asked from where he was standing by the window.

"There are a a lot of myths about how a person can turn in to a werewolf," Derek said. "Usually a bite. And there's one about rain water."

"Drinking rainwater from the puddle of a werewolf's print," Kyla filled in. "I don't think anyone's ever proven that one though."

Flashes of memory raced through Derek's head. Hearing Kate and Chris Argent talk about how you could be turned by a scratch if the claws went deep enough at a lacrosse game. Peter's claws digging in to Kate's neck and splattering blood across the walls and floor of the old Hale house as he ripped out her throat.

Stiles sat down across from them and Kyla leaned a little closer to him. "Derek," she said softly. "If this was al just a dream then what's wrong?" her hand brushed over his back again, trying to relax the tense muscles. "Why do you look so worried?"

Derek stared at her. "Because I don't remember waking up," he said hollowly. He looked desperately at Stiles. "So tell me!" he pleaded. "How do you tell if you're dreaming?"

"Fingers," Stiles said immediately, sounding much more serious than usual. "In dreams you have extra fingers."

Derek grabbed the teenagers hand with horror, noted the extra digit. Suddenly, Kyla's comforting presence vanished and Stiles's concerned expression disappeared. He was on his knees on the floor of his loft, blood leaking from a bullet hole in his chest. "It's real," he whispered. The shot gun wielding form of Kate Argent emerged from the smoke wearing tight jeans and a leather jacket. "You're real," he said with horror.

"That's right Derek," she said with a malicious smirk. "And if seeing me is a surprise, watch this."

Derek stared in horror as her features contorted in to some kind of werecat. Her eyes gleamed blue and her canines extended in to long fangs. And then everything went black.

**A/N: Thus concludes season three! Should I keep going? Or should I delete this and never again trouble the internet with my ideas? How did I do on writing the kiss? Sorry there wasn't more with the TMI characters, I just wasn't completely sure how to work them in. I'm open to suggestions! Please tell me what you thought. Review for me!xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxxoxooxxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxxooxooxxooxoxoxoxox**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Seriously? It isn't clear at this point that I don't own any od this? If I owned any of this besides Kyla then all of this would be on TV and in books instead of online. **

"It's all right Lina," Kyla said gently, trying desperately to sooth the little girl clinging to her leg. She leant down and stroked her hair, wrapping an arm around her and rubbing her back. "Mrs. James is going to take care of you and Matt until I get back."

Lina sniffed and looked up at her. "Why do you have to go?"

Kyla took a moment to pick her words. How exactly did you explain to a six year old that you were on your way to Mexico because a werewolf who was possibly your boyfriend had gotten himself kidnapped by a family of Russian werewolf hunters? "Well," she started carefully. "A friend I care about a lot needs my help. But to help him I need to go away on a camping trip for a couple of days. I'll be back before you know it Sweetie."

Lina stepped back and looked at her seriously, sniffing. "Promise?"

Kyla gently wrapped her pinky finger around Lina's. "_Pinky _promise." She reached away and brushed away the last of Angelina's tears. She pressed a kiss to the top of the little girl's head and straightened up. Swinging her duffle bag over her shoulder, she jogged out of the Point's house to where Stiles's jeep waited.

She swung her bag in to the trunk and jogged around to the driver's side window where Stiles sat. "Where am I sitting?" The back seat of the jeep was already occupied with Lydia, Kira, and Malia. A werecoyote, a kitsune, and a banshee all get in to a car. It struck Kyla that Scott's wolf pack seemed to be distinctly lacking in actual werewolves.

The passenger side door opened and Scott hopped out, folding down a small jump seat just behind the gear shift. "You're the smallest," the alpha explained, sounding slightly apologetic. Kyla merely shrugged and settled in to her seat. She had traveled by worse methods. For instance, riding bare back on a giant mythical wild boar for ten hours straight.

Finding Derek took priority over comfort. It had been one thing when he hadn't come to pick her up from school the day after Allison died. It started seeming suspicious when he didn't answer any of her or Scott's text. The final straw had been going to his loft to find a can full of bullet shells with sculls engraved on them. Something was definitely very wrong.

"Alright everybody," Stiles said. "We've got a fifteen hour drive in front of us. Thirteen if we don't hit traffic. We can cut it to eleven if we break the speed limit at well, everywhere. We have snacks, music, and water, plus about three bags worth of artillery. can anyone think of anything else we need before-"

"Just drive Stiles," Malia cut in impatiently.

Stiles immediately started the car and peeled out of the driveway. As soon as they were on the high way he slammed his foot on the accelerator, and everyone settled in for the long drive ahead of them. Lydia attempted to coax Malia through some of her math homework while doing an AP Biology packet of her own. Kira put in her ear buds and leaned her head against the window. Stiles and Scott were quizzing each other on words for the PSATs.

Kyla slipped in her own ear buds and began to listen to the book they were supposed to read for English. Why go through the headache of trying to read when the letters were only going to float off the page? Listening was much easier. She leaned her head back against the seats and tried her best to relax. It was going to be a long eleven hours.

* * *

A good thirteen hours later found Kyla standing with Malia and Kira in a club filled with flashing colored lights and young people shouting in a mix of Spanish and American over loud techno music. It was extremely difficult to hear anything over the pounding beat of the music so Kyla had resorted to texting. Grover was the area and she was hoping that her old friend could help them out with a tracking spell. Her tracking abilities were good, but it was almost like someone had dropped a veil over Derek's location. Maybe the satyr would have better luck.

However, she had been able to track the Calavera family to this town in Mexico. Lydia had used her Banshee abilities to confirm that he was alive,but something was definitely not right. That was why they were here enacting (as Lydia called it) their worst plan ever. She, Malia, Kira and Scott had gotten in to the club fairly easily and had positioned themselves so that they would be able to back up Stiles and Lydia when they needed to.

Malia was dancing near by with a large group of Mexican teenagers. Kira had secured herself a place on a low couch in a smaller gathering. The language barrier hadn't proved to be an issue. In a club, the only language needed was in how you looked ad acted. If you walked in to a club looking like a pretty girl ready to have a good time, then everyone in the vicinity could be your best friend.

Kyla listened to the music for a moment before beginning to dance her way over to Malia. Night hunts through Pandemonium meant that she knew how to move to club music. The dance she took as part of gymnastics, and her natural hunter's grace didn't hurt with crowd negotiation either. She reached the werecoyote who immediately stepped back slightly so that both girls were dancing near each other.

Malia cocked her head to the side, indicating the burly security people who were scanning the crowd. Kyla nodded to indicate that she had seen them to as Kira dashed up to them. "Something's happening!"

"We know!" Malia said calmly, still bouncing to the music.

"So what do we do?" Kira asked, sounding anxious.

Kyla smiled slightly at her awkwardness. She had gotten used to club atmosphere as soon as Hodge had cleared her, Jace, and the Lightwoods for hunting. The four of them had been prowling through Pandemonium since age fourteen. "Blend in," she told Kira over the music. "Stay alert."

The kitsune still looked confused. "How?"

Malia rolled her eyes before Kyla could say anything and said. "Dance with us dumb ass!" making it quite clear that that should have been completely obvious.

After a moment of Kira jerking around awkwardly looking like she was having a seizure, Malia intervened. She grabbed the other girl and loaned her some of her own ability to find a rhythm. Kyla spun, moving to the music. The music switched to a Spanish dance song and the feel of the dancing became more Latin. Kyla switched naturally with the tempo, still watching everything before a tall Hispanic man took her hand and spun her. Kyla let it happen and let herself be guided through the rest of the song in a kind of dancing that closely resembled Salsa. Eventually she swung back out and found herself moving with Kira and Malia.

Two large men and a women wearing a frown and a leather jacket began to approach them. "Ready?" Malia asked Kira who nodded. The Kitsune's nun chucks unsoiled in her hands and Malia spun, flooring one of the men in seconds. Kyla went hand to hand, not having any weapons that wouldn't cause injury or death. The other man lunged and Kyla used his momentum and weight as advantage, throwing him over her shoulder and slamming him in to the ground. She proceeded to knock him out with a swift kick to the temple.

She looked up to see Malia grinning triumphantly. Kira spun her nun chucks. A few feet away from them, Scott shoved the last of the men into a metal pillar before picking him up by the throat and throwing him in to a wall.

All four of them crept through a door and off the dance floor into a maze of cramped, dark, hallways. Red paint covered the walls. Suddenly smoke began to pour from nozzles in the floor and ceiling. "Wolfs bane," he chocked. "Kira Kyla go! Get out!"

Kyla's vision was cut off as a black bad was dropped over her head. A meaty hand wrapped around her neck constricting her windpipe. Her lungs felt like they were burning from the pressure and lack of oxygen. Then she couldn't fight it anymore, and blacked out.

* * *

She woke up in what looked like a grungy tiled bathroom. She immediately got to her feet and began to examine the space. A quick inspection of the door revealed solid steal. Stiles managed to wake up Scott and explain that the Calaveras had taken Lydia. Scott immediately did what she had done and was met with exactly the same level of success.

"We already looked for a way out," Kira said. Kyla saw Scott's eyes light on a set of deep scratch marks in the wall. "It kind of looks like a lot of people have."

Malia shrugged. "I say, when that door opens again, we take down whoever is standing in the way and we run for it."

"Well that would sound like a good plan," Kyla acknowledged. "Except that we don't know when the next person might come to check on us. For all we know the Calaveras are planning on leaving us all hear to die of dehydration. Plus we're still missing Lydia."

The werecoyote looked confused. "What about Lydia?"

Scot came over to where the rest of them were standing. "Well we're not leaving without her," he stated.

Malia was still clearly not getting it. "Why not?" Kyla rolled her eyes and began to reexamine the room for any week points in the walls. Seven years as a coyote had given Malia a sharp set of survival skills. These skills didn't really include sticking around to save your friends. Kyla had observed that members of wolf packs were highly loyal, but then again, Malia was a coyote not a wolf.

"Because we don't leave without people," Stiles explained simply. "You remember we talked about this? Rules of the wild kingdom don't apply to friends."

"Is that what you would do as a coyote?" Kira asked with an expression on her face that was clearly grossed out but also slightly curious. "Leave her for dead?"

"Don't be ridiculous Kira," Kyla said still examining the walls. Malia stared at her as Kira relaxed slightly. Kyla looked back at them. "If the hunting had been bad that season and she was week and injured she would eat her first," Kyla explained. "Waste not want not. Then she would leave."

Malia made a thank you gesture at her. "See?" she said in a vindicated voice. "Kyla gets it!"

Stiles hummed non commitally. "Believe it or not this is actually progress."

Kyla sighed. She only understood coyote behavior because of her mother. Wild animals such as coyotes generally fell under Artemis's domain. If Kyla wanted to, she could even have full out mental conversations with coyotes. She had explained what she was to the others minus all of the gory details to the others when it had become clear that she was being thoroughly adopted in to Scott's pack. They had taken it better than she had expected.

"Were not dead yet," Scott pointed out. "That must mean Uriah wants something."

"Well," Kyla said, beginning to assess the options. " If the Calaveras don't know where Derek is then that means that either they didn't take him from the loft or he found a way to walk out by himself. Or-"

She cut off, not wanting to voice the next option. Scott filled in. "Or somebody else got to him first."

The next thing that happened was the door swinging open with a bang. Then the sharp burn of electricity sliced through her body. For the second time in as many hours, everything went black.

* * *

Being hit with an extremely high voltage cattle prod was incredibly not fun. In fact it was incredibly painful. Also, it knocked her out completely for a very short amount of time leaving her brain open to dreams.

She dreamed that she was standing in some kind of abandoned room. It was huge and made of stone but it was covered in dirt and cobwebs. It looked like some kind of old temple. The cracks in the walls made her think that it had taken some kind of serious natural damage. An earthquake maybe? Carvings were scattered along the walls but most of them had worn away to far for Kyla to tell what they were.

The most shocking thing about the room was the women standing about ten feet away. She was directly across from Kyla, and seemed to be starring straight through her without seeing her. Kyla waved her arms back in forth vigorously just to check and received no reaction. Deciding it was safe to proceed, Kyla took a few steps closer to the women. Everything about her was just so _wrong._

She was tall and slim, looked to be in her early thirties or late twenties, with long dark blonde hair. Strangely, her face reminded her of Allison. Looking closer, Kyla saw that her eyes were a perfect replication of Chris Argent's icy blue orbs. Whoever this women was, she was definitely an Argent. Se was wearing jeans, boots, and a leather jacket over a dark shirt. However, it wasn't her appearance that had Kyla on edge. It was the aura of dark supernatural force that clung around her like a cloud. It was potent enough that Kyla could feel a chill sweeping down he spine.

Then suddenly it was like she was being sucked forward. The world seemed to be tipping, sending her sliding across the floor passed the unknown Argent and towards the wall behind her. On a reflex, Kyla held up her hands and prepared for the painful collision of bones against stone, but it never came. Instead she seemed to slide through the carved stone wall and in to an almost tomb like room.

Kyla's breath froze in her chest. Just across the small room, was Derek. She sprinted over to him and then stopped short. Derek was encased in some kind of dark energy. It swirled around his hands and face like miniature thunder clouds, but instead of giving something off Kyla got the distinct impression that the casing was pulling something away. Warily, Kyla reached out her hand to test the energy but her fingers came into contact with some kind of invisible wall nearly two inches away.

She struggled for a moment but it was pointless. The barrier was solid and slippery. It felt almost like wet glass below her fingertips and it appeared to go around Derek's entire body. Kyla took a deep breath to hold herself together. She switched modes and began to examine Derek.

She almost had a mini heart attack for a second when she couldn't see him breathing, but then she saw his chest rise and fall once and gave a sigh of relief. His head was tipped forwards on to his chest and his eyes were shut. He almost looked like he was asleep, but Kyla didn't like the way his arms were folded over his chest. It had bee done in the way that people arrange corpses in their coffins. As though Derek was already dead.

"We're coming," she murmured. It was probably pointless considering he seemed to be comatose and she was dreaming, but it made her feel better to say. The dream began to fade and swim around the edges. "We're coming!" she repeated. "Just hold on!"

Then she was being jolted awake.

* * *

Kyla was dragged out in to the square by a burly, sullen looking hunter and shoved in the direction of Stiles's jeep where all of the others were standing, including Scott and- "Grover!" Kyla shouted running up to the satyr and giving him a hug. "I am so happy to see you right now you cannot even _begin _to understand it." She pulled away from him and fixed his large hat over the horns that were creeping farther and farther out of his curly hair.

The satyr laughed. "I'd say I get it," he said, tapping his nose. "Being empathetic and all."

Scott spoke up. "He showed up and said that you and him were friends. He said you asked him here."

Kyla nodded. "That's right. Guys, this is Grover Underwood. He's a satyr on the council of cloven elders. I've known him since I was six years old. Grover, meet Lydia the banshee, Scott the Alpha werewolf, Malia the werecoyote, Kira the Kitsune, and Stiles."

"We did names before you got out," Grover said shifting his feet a bit. "They kind of demanded to know seeing as to two of them I smell like goat and all," he gave everyone a small wave. "Nice to meet you all. I hope your trip here was better than mine. I had to let the dryads pass me through the trees. Do you know how uncomfortable it is to tree travel through a cactus?"

Kyla winced sypathetically. She had tree traveled once or twice, not the most fun experience ever. "Sorry," she said. "A friend of ours has gotten kidnapped. I've tried tracking him but it's like something keeps blocking me. I was hoping you could try a tracking spell."

Grover shrugged and pulled his reed pipes out of his nap sack along with seven acorns. "I can try. It would be more powerful if you had something of your friends."

The others looked at each other blank and panicky. Kyla dug in to her bag and pulled out a small vile of dark red liquid. "What about blood from a family member?" she asked, holding out the vile. "Would that work?"

"Okay, how the hell did you get blood from Peter?" Stiles asked warily.

Kyla shrugged. "He wasn't coming with us to help," she said matter of factly. "I made it clear to him before we left that the least he could do to help would be to make a charitable contribution to aid us in our search for his only nephew."

Grover took the blood and set it in a circle with the acorns just as a leather clad figure rolled up next to Stiles's jeep on a motorcycle. The figure took of their helmet to reveal a dark skinned women who was undeniably beautiful despite the four thick scars slashed across her throat and neck. "Braeden," Scott said. "She said she was going to give us a guide.

"She's a mercenary Scott," Lydia warned. "I say we go with the goat."

"Gee, thanks," Grover huffed. "Not like I'm a lord of the wild or anything." He played a quick tune on his reed pipes and the acorns rearranged themselves. The vile containing Peter's blood began to glow. One acorn levitated and floated just in front of Kyla at eye level, floating slightly in the direction leading out of town.

The mercenary Braeden rolled her eyes and let out a puff of air. "Look whatever, go with acorn boy or not but if I'm not leading you to La Inglesia I don't get paid."

"The church," Stiles translated easily. Kyla frowned, what she had seen in her dream hadn't looked very church like.

"It's not a place you'll find God," Braeden said dryly. She inclined her head to Kyla and Grover slightly. "Or gods."

"Okay," Scott said thinking hard. "We'll combine forces. Use Braeden and the acorn thing and if they start splitting off from each other," he shrugged. "Then we stop and reevaluate."

It wasn't a horrible plan as plans went, so Kyla gave Grover a tight hug and passed him a large plastic bag of tin cans and apples for him to munch on the way pack. This had firmly reestablished her in Grover's good graces. Plus she gave him a quick consultation on jewelry he was trying to pick out as a birthday present for his girlfriend Juniper. The satyr left with a happy bleat and the promise to tell everyone at camp that she was alright.

Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter were both trying to figure out how they could stop existing separately and pull off a merger. The Olympic council meetings were endless. Business meetings with the gods were problematic enough when no one was trying to wrestle multiple aspects of their godly persona. Now that they were all mashed in together they were in chaos.

* * *

Several hours of desert road later, Malia leaned her head over the back of Kyla's seat. "Okay," she said. "I'll ask. Who's Kate Argent?"

Kyla's ears pricked. She had never heard of a Kate Argent. Could she be the women from the tomb in her dream. Kira raised her hand. "Um... I'd like to know to." At least it wasn't just Kyla who was feeling uninformed.

Stiles shrugged as he drove. "Well, we where at her funeral. So I'd like to know how she got out of a casket burred six feet under ground."

"She was never in it," Scott said, sounding mentally tired.

Lydia let out a deep breath slowly. "She was Allison's aunt," the Banshee contributed. "And a total sociopath."

"Wait," Kyla said holding up her hands. "Was Allison's aunt Kate by any chance a tall women, early thirties, with long blonde hair that always looks like she's trying to figure out how to kill you in the most gruesome way possible and hide your mutilated corpse where no one will ever find it?"

Scott turned to look at her, eyes wide. "Yeah," he said slowly. "Yeah that sounds like Kate. How did you know?"

Kyla shrugged. "I had a dream with that women standing in some old room when I was knocked out and separated from you guys. Sometimes demigod dreams mean stuff so I thought she was probably important. When you said she Kate was Allison's aunt it explained why she looked familiar."

"You don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want," Kira offered, eyes on Scott.

"Yes he does!" Malia rebutted.

Scott sighed and looked across Kyla to Stiles. "She's right," he said. He looked at Kira, Kyla and Malia before returning his gaze to the window. "You all have the right to know."

Stiles let out a deep breath and tapped his fingers nervously against the steering wheel. "Kate was the one who burnt Derek's family alive," he said reluctantly. "She, crept up to the house one night with a couple of her Hench people, soaked the groaned in gasoline and set fire to the place while eleven people were still trapped inside."

Kyla could tell that Stiles was watching her out of the corner of his eye for her reaction but she just absorbed the information in silence. That explained the shadow in Derek's eyes. It explained why he was careful about who he cared about. He had lost nearly everyone.

"Some of them survived," Scott put in. "Like Peter and Derek's younger sister Cora whose in South America."

Lydia's eyebrows shot up. "A very angry Peter," she pointed out.

Scott nodded. "Yeah," he said grimly. "Peter's the one who bit and turned me."

"And the one who finally caught up to Kate," Lydia added on. "And killed her."

Kyla raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Last time she I checked," she said. "You can only really say that someone has killed someone if the someone that they tried to kill is actually dead."

Scott noted her expression and continued his explanation. "The Calaveras heard that Kate had been killed by an alpha's claws. hey wanted to make sure that she was really dead. But her body was healing more and more as she got closer to the full moon. So they switched out the bodies and took her."

Kyla nodded, she knew what was coming next. "There's the old Shadowhunter policy," she said. "If a Nephilim was bitten they were supposed to take their own life before they could change. The Clave abolished the policy when they lost the Mortal Cup and couldn't create any new members. Aside from the conventional way I guess. The hunter families must still use it."

The Alpha tipped his head in acknowledgement and kept on going with his narrative. "The Calaveras, they treat the code like law. They make it their responsibility to enforce it. Kate broke the code."

"Good for her," Malia said coldly. "I wouldn't do it either."

"Would you kill half a dozen people to get out?" Scott questioned. "Because that's what she did."

They drove along in silence for a moment. The acorn that Grover had bewitched floated along straight ahead of them a few inches above the dashboard. Then Kira spoke. "So Kate's a werewolf now?"

Scott frowned pensively. "I don't know. There's this old saying that sometimes the shape you take reflects the person you are."

That was something to thin about. It sort of made Kyla wonder what animal she would be. Her mother presided over quite a few, so the possible list was ay long one. Lydia scoffed. "What kind of a shape is sociopathic bitch?" Then the jeep jerked and groaned to an unplanned stop.

Kyla jumped out with the others and Stiles immediately went around to the front to check for damage. Braeden had pulled her bike to a stop and was approaching them. "What happened?!" she demanded.

"I don't know it felt like we hit something," Stiles tried to explain as he struggled to figure out what was wrong with his beloved vehicle.

Braeden quickly gave the vehicle up as a lost cause and turned her attention over to Scott and Kyla. "We need to get there before dark. It's too dangerous otherwise."

Kyla immediately nodded. "Scott can go with you on the bike. I've got my own." Taking a moment to concentrate, she shut out the voices of everyone else around and extract a vampire bike from the same sub dimension she stored her bags in. She shrugged at Braeden. "The new leader of the New York vampire Clan is a friend." This was true. A three hundred year old Irish vampire who was in good with the Clave had rolled in to town one night and nearly gotten killed by some of Maureen's crazy subjects. Kyla had handled the subjects, and in return he had taken down Maureen, and the two of them ha struck up a good, if somewhat unlikely friendship.

A few moments later, Scott had finished what she was sure was a hard felt goodbye with Kira and climbed on to the back of Braeden's bike. Then they were off, with the acorn speeding along in front of them.

* * *

They stopped nearly an hour later on a ridge over looking a leveled town. They all disembarked from their vehicles, and went to stand at the top of the ridge.

"La Iglesia," Braeden said. "A while ago there was an earthquake here. It leveled the town."

"Then why is the church still standing?" Scott questioned.

Braeden shrugged and Kyla just knew that she was going to hate this answer. "A lot of the locals think it's because of what's underneath." Yup, so far she was definitely hating this. Scott asked if he even wanted to know and Braeden explained. "The church was built over the remains of an Aztec temple. It belonged to a people called the Nahual."

Kyla's eyebrows went up a bit. "Werejaguars?" The Nahul had pooped up in a few of the more interesting lectures Hodge had given over the years. That didn't necessarily mean Kyla wanted to meet any of them any time soon.

"So Derek and Kate are somewhere in there?" Scott said, sounding like he was steeling his nerves.

The mercenary shrugged. "I don't know. I've never gotten this far before." Then she turned and headed back to her bike.

Kyla rolled her eyes and turned to follow her. "Oh yeah," she muttered sarcastically. "Because that's not concerning at all. I feel so safe and reassured now." Actually, she had gone in to worse situations knowing less, but it was still the principal that counted.

* * *

A demigod Nephilim, a mercenary and a werewolf all walk in to a creepy abandoned church in a town leveled by an earthquake in the middle of Mexico. That was what Kyla's life had turned in to. She wondered if the punch line on this joke was one that would actually end up being funny to anyone.

Her bow was in her hands and there was a sharp snap as Braeden chambered a round into a sawed off shut gun. Scott looked at the mercenary. "If you find Kate in here what are you going to do with her?"

"Take her back to the Calaveras, Braeden said casually as they kept going down a long sort of alley way. "That's what they paid me for."

"What happens after that?" Scott asked. Their was a strange edge of anxiety in his tone. Kyla rolled her eyes. Someone apparently wasn't quite grasping the concept of what a mercenary was. Mercenaries weren't paid to ask questions. They were paid to do a job and get out as quickly as possible.

Braeden shrugged. "Not my problem."

"A girl's gotta eat," Kyla said calmly. Braeden glanced at her and nodded. There was very slight surprise showing in her brown eyes at Kyla's words. Kyla gave the other girl a simple one shoulder shrug. She might not necessarily agree with Braeden's life philosophy, but she did understand the logic in it. "What?" she said. "You're trying to survive and you've got a particular highly payable skill set to do it with. I get it. Besides, I'm not exactly in a position to judge."

Scott frowned. "So you don't care?"

Braeden turned her attention back to him. "Do you?" she asked the teen skeptically. "She's a mass murderer."

"If the money was good enough would you kill her?" Scott persisted doggedly. No pun intended.

With a huff Kyla cut off any further discussion on the subject. "Scott, she's a mercenary. If the money was good enough she would kill both of us." That shut him up.

They kept on pushing through the abandoned church, kicking plywood and rubble out of their way. They entered another abandoned room. Things were beginning to look more and more like the structure from her dream. "Can you catch Derek's scent?" Braeden asked. She reached up and tapped the acorn lightly. "I'm going to need to get me one of these some day. It's weird but seems useful."

"How about a deal," Kyla proposed. "You promise not to kill me, and I'll hook you up." The mercenary nodded in acknowledgement of the offer. Kyla got the impression that the girl was seriously considering it.

Scott froze and threw out an arm to stop them from going any further. "I've got Derek's scent but there's something else in here."

Awesome. That was just what this situation needed. A dark, creepy, abandoned, building always had to have a 'something else' in it. "Something like what?" Braeden hissed.

Scott paused, breathing deeply. "Something not human."

Kyla tapped her foot, feeling a little impatient. "Could you be a bit more specific maybe?" she requested. "_I'm _something else in this room that isn't human."

Braeden simply sighed and pushed her way further in to the room. Scott shook his head. "It's not you," he said. "You smell like the moon, and sunshine, and something- I don't know- Flowery. This is different."

Kyla chose to ignore Scott's description of her scent and pushed along determinedly after Braeden. They had to be close to Derek now, and Kyla couldn't wait to get to him and get the hell out of dodge. She didn't know what had been encasing him, but her gut feeling was that it was nothing good. Scott followed behind her, and soon all three of them had gone deeper underground from the church. Images of her time in the Labyrinth a three summers ago when she was fourteen popped in to her head and Kyla had to forcibly push them in to the back of her mind.

"So how come you didn't kiss her?" Braeden asked Scott conversationally as they made their way down another set of cobweb encased stone steps.

"What?" Scott asked, clearly thrown off.

"Your girlfriend," Braeden clarified. Kyla had actually wondered fleetingly about that goodbye as well, but there were things on her mind that were slightly more pressing than her friends relationship status.

Scott blinked a few times. "You mean Kira?"

Kyla let out an exasperated breath. "No Lydia," she said sarcastically. She brought up her free hand and delivered a sharp smack to the back of Scott's head. "Yes Kira dumb ass!"

The alpha werewolf flinched and rubbed his head. "Ow," he received no sympathy from either women. "Kira is not my- I mean we haven't really ever-" Scott floundered. "She's not my girlfriend," he admitted lamely.

Braeden's eye brows shot up as they came to a pit like store room with shelves stocked with jars of gods only knew what. "So if you die down here," she said. "You won't regret not kissing her?" Scott stared at her wide eyed and Braeden shot him a look. "You should have kissed your girlfriend." The mercenary turned to Kyla as they kept walking. "And you?" she asked. "Who would you regret not kissing goodbye?"

Kyla flashed back to the last time she had seen Derek the morning after they had defeated the nogitsune and watched Aiden die. She remembered the kiss and the warm feeling of his strong arms around her. "Last time I saw him I did kiss him goodbye." She replied simply. A look of sudden understanding flashed across Braeden's face and she let the subject drop.

They rounded another corner in to an earthen tunnel. Chunks of rock and ruins pocket through the walls. Dense ropes of cobwebs and roots tangles together around the walls and overhead. Up ahead, Kyla could see a scorpion crawl over the head of a skeleton. Kyla shuddered. She had spent enough time around Nico and in the underworld that skeletons didn't worry her. Angel knew she had enough of them in her closet. "I hate scorpions," she muttered.

Scott froze, checking his surroundings. "I just felt like something was behind us," he whispered in response to the question Braeden hissed at him. Kyla could feel the prickling feeling of being watched as she drew an arrow from her quiver. Braeden gripped her shot gun more tightly as they moved a few more steps.

A definite clack and growling noise sounded and they all spun around. "Did you hear that?" Braeen asked, an edge of fear working it's way in to her voice."

"Is this why you never get that far?" Scott asked. The teenager was able to pull of an amazing level of back talking when their lives were in danger. Come to think of it, so could most of the people Kyla knew.

"Get ready," Kyla warned as the growling got closer. The next several moments were all flashing arrows and the loud bang and pop of the shot gun.

"Scott where is it can you see it?!" Braeden asked urgently as they all began to back up farther in to the tunnel. "Where is this thing!?"

Scott let out his own growl of frustration as they backed in to another room. "I don't know I can't see anything!" Braeden shouted for Scott to get behind her but instead Scott stepped forward to face the monster head on. He shoved Kyla behind him and let out a full Alpha howl. KYla had to cover her ears. The sound was one of deafening anger and desperation. Telling whatever the creature was in no uncertain terms that he was encroaching on an Alpha's grounds and that _would not be tolerated. _Chunks of the ceiling caved in, and the sound of the creature faded away. Scott turned back to them and picked up the flashlight he had dropped. "I think I scared it," he said, his face going back to it's human visage.

Kyla collected her bow from where she had dropped it to cover her ears. She brought her hands up and rubbed her ear drums lightly. "I think you scared _everything."_

A large chunk of wall vanished behind them, and they all turned to look. Braeden loaded another shell in to her shotgun and Scott shined the light that direction curiously. With a lurch, Kyla recognized the cloudy force that had surrounded Derek in her dream. "What the hell is that?" Scott asked.

They followed the energy trails as they receded in to the new room. Kyla's stomach gave another lurch as she saw the circular carving on the far wall. This was the room from her dream. Kyla walked up to the carving and passed her fingers over it. Scott was doing the same. "Tezcatlipoca," Braeden said, naming the figure at the center of the inscription. "The Nahual jaguar god."

The acorn bumped in to the wall slightly, before the glow around it faded, and it dropped in to Kyla's palm. Kyla concentrated and pressed her free palm against the cold stone. She cast out the senses she used to track supernatural creatures, and felt a familiar cord of energy tugging at her from the other side of the stone. She took a step back. "We found Derek," she told Scott and Braeden. "My tracking senses can pick him up now. Besides," she gestured to the engraving. "I saw this in my dream.

Scott stepped forward and lined his hand up with the stone, making a fist. "Stand back," he warned, then he began tearing through the wall.

Braeden looked at Kyla. "You have special senses for tracking?"

"It's an inherited skill," Kyla said by way of explanation.

Scott made quick work of the old stone wall. All three of them crowded in around the whole, and Kyla was not prepared for the sight that greeted them. "Oh my God," Scott breathed. Braeden looked completely shocked.

There, reaching out to them was Derek. Only it wasn't Derek. It _couldn't _be him, because Derek was older than this teenager before them. This guy reaching out to them weekly couldn't be older than seventeen. Then Kyla saw it. The wide forehead and set shoulders. The strong jaw line and thick black hair. Most importantly, the familiar hazel green-grey eyes framed with thick black lashed and shadowed with strong dark eyebrows. He was even wearing the same green tee shirt Kyla had last seen him in. This was definitely still Derek. Just... different.

"Come on," she said. "We have to get him out of there."

* * *

The three of them managed to get a near incoherent teenaged Derek out of the tomb and back up through the church. Kyla made gentle shushing noises the whole way to try to keep him from panicking. They emerged from the church just as Stiles, Malia, Kira , and Lydia poured out of the now functioning Jeep.

Stiles stared at young Derek. A look of absolute shock written over his face. "Is that him?" Malia asked in confusion. "Is that Derek?"

"Um, well," Stiles said, not at all sure how to explain what the hell they were looking at. "I mean... kind of."

**A/N: How was this? I can't wait to watch the episode from tonight. I have some ideas about how Derek's problem with his abilities could be resolved, but I have to wait and see how they do it on the show before I follow through on it. How did you like my use of Braeden? I don't hate the character, I'm just obviously not writing her with Derek. Review for me!xoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxoxoxoxxooxoxxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxxo**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: Um. I'm a fifteen year old girl, so no. I own nothing. Even the computer I'm writing this on was purchased for me as a Christmas present from my parents.**

The ride back to Beacon Hills from Mexico seemed like an eternity or like a single second. Time started to bend in on it's self. They had "borrowed" a junkyard but still functional car for Kira and Malia to get home so that they had space to lay Derek out in the backseat of Stiles's jeep. He had fallen unconscious almost as soon as they had loaded him in to the car and still hadn't come out of it when they pulled up in front of Deaton's clinic.

Lydia ran inside to warn Deaton that they were coming in and Kyla secured the blanket they had wrapped around Derek before Scott swung him over his shoulder and carried him inside. Stiles opened the door for them and Kyla darted inside out of the rain. Water was pouring down like someone had taken a hose and turned it on full blast over their heads. The ten foot dash from the car had been long enough to leave Kyla's hair completely soaked.

Deaton shoved everything off of an exam table and Scott laid Derek down carefully. Kyla had only talked to the veterinarian/druid a few times, but Scott trusted him implicitly, and she was willing to take Scott's word for it that the vet was one of the good guys. Deaton caught sight of Derek's smooth face and teenaged features and his dark eyes widened. "Oh wow," he commented, pretty much voicing the feeling of the group. "Oh shit" would have worked too.

"Wow?" Stiles said trying not to sound too hopeful. "Wow as in I've seen this before and know exactly what to do kind of wow? Because that's the kind of wow we were hoping for."

Deaton shot the teen a slightly overwhelmed look. "I think you may be overestimating my abilities."

Kyla grimaced. it wasn't what they had hoped for but she had to give the man props for being honest. She reached out to check Derek's pulse and noticed that his normally warm skin was frigid against hers. He had been cold on the trip back from Mexico but not this cold. "He's cold," she told the vet.

Lydia immediately reached out and took Derek's other hand. "Very cold," she confirmed.

Deaton touched a finger against Derek's forearm and nodded quickly. He took a pen light from his pocket and shone it in to Derek's eyes to check pupillary response. He shook his head as Scott asked if Derek's newly teenaged state would be permanent. That had basically been a line of thought that Kyla had been trying to avoid. "I'm not sure if a medical diagnoses if even possible," Deaton admitted hopelessly.

"So what do we do?" Stiles asked fidgeting anxiously. "What do we know?"

Deaton straightened up and turned off his flashlight, stowing it back in to his pocket. "Until he wakes up? Probably not much. It's probably best to leave him with me."

Scott nodded, having explained what they had figured out about Kate to the veterinarian already over the phone. "You mean he'll be safe from Kate?"

The druid looked up at his protégé seriously. "She's alive. If what you learned is true and she is what you think she is then she won't able to be walk passed that gate."

"Mountain ash," Kyla had observed the familiar color of the wooden gate when they had walked through it to get to the exam room. She had known the type of wood on sight because it made up a large amount of the Institute, not to mention her cabin back at camp. "You used Rowan wood."

Lydia tucked the blanket a little closer around Derek just so that she was doing something slightly useful. She bit her lower lip regarding Derek's newly teenaged face. He looked more peaceful, and much more vulnerable. "Why would Kate want to do this to him."

Deaton sighed, shaking his head. "Knowing Kate her reasons won't be any good for anyone but her."

Kyla's fingers tightened slightly around Derek's hand. "And by that you mean bad for everyone else." She moved her thumb lightly against the back of Derek's hand. He shifted slightly, murmuring. Kyla mentally resolved that s soon as she came face to face with Kate Argent she was going to put an arrow through the bitch's head.

Deaton nodded. Stiles let out a deep breath and cracked his neck, blinking repeatedly. Scott's eyes had begun to lose focus. Lydia looked even paler than usual. Kyla only felt awake because the moon had begun gaining strength in the sky. If she could reorganize her sleeping patterns enough she was almost always more alert at night time.

"You guys should probably go home," Deaton said, looking at them. "He doesn't look o be in any danger, so maybe the rest of you should go home and get some _sleep," _he let out a slight smile. "It is a school night." Kyla almost laughed at the absurdity of the statement. Her werewolf maybe boyfriend had been turned back in to a teenager and was unconscious in a veterinary practice. The last thing she was thinking about was _school. _Scott and Stiles both looked similarly startled by the idea. "It's time you four started taking care of you own lives again."

Scott rubbed his eyes. "Someone should still stay with you."

Deaton nodded allowing it and Kyla and Lydia looked at each other. Out of the four of them, the two girls were least likely to suffer from missing a few classes. Lydia had a 5.0 GPA, and despite her dyslexia Kyla managed a minimum of a 3.8. "We'll stay." Kyla said. "Our grades are fine. Besides, can always play the dyslexia card if some teacher tries to be a hard ass.

Stiles eyes Lydia's hand gripping the one of Derek's that wasn't intertwined with Kyla's. "I'm so not okay with this."

"Good thing we didn't ask for your approval then," Kyla said evenly.

"Guys," Lydia said looking between Scott and Stiles. Her voice held the same bossy tone that Annabeth used on Percy. "Go."

Stiles shook his head. "No."

Scott merely released a deep breath and zipped up his jacket. He took a step back and flicked his eyes between Kyla and Lydia. "Text us if anything happens." They both nodded and Scott began dragging Stiles out the door, ignoring his friends protests. Sometimes being supernaturally strong paid off in not having to listen to what people said they wanted.

Deaton slipped away as the bell over the front door rang and returned a few moments later with coffee and chairs for the two girls. They both settled in to make themselves comfortable, and Lydia was fast asleep with her chin in her hands within half an hour. Kyla just sipped at the coffee. It wasn't great but it was decent.

She managed to keep herself awake for a while. She checked Derek's pulse every half hour or so, and was glad to find it picking up it's rhythm. His body temperature seemed to be climbing to. The last of her energy reserve faded with the week moonlight, and Kyla found herself asleep just as the first rays of the sun began to creep in to the room.

* * *

Her hand was boiling. That was the first thing Kyla noticed when she woke up again. She looked to where her fingers wee still woven with Derek's and immediately identified him as the heat source. Now his temperature seemed unusually high. She gently untangled her fingers, and stood, stretching her back like a cat.

Deaton glanced at her momentarily, and then went back to taking Derek's pulse at the vein in his neck. Slowly Lydia lifted her head, blinking sleepily before asking, "How's he doing?"

Deaton frowned. "His heart rate is alarmingly high."

Kyla used the fingers of her other hand to confirm what he had said. "He's a lot warmer now to," she chipped in. "When I woke up I felt like my hand was burning."

The druid's brow was furrowed in thought. He looked between the two girls. "Lydia, Kyla, I'm going to try something." _Uh oh _was Kyla's gut reaction. Whenever she heard those words the general follow up involved running, violence, and screaming. Not necessarily in that order.

"I want you both to keep holding his hands if that's okay," both of them nodded, and Kyla re-entwined her fingers with Derek's. Deaton reached for a small scalpel, and very carefully and deliberately cut a long incision in the skin of Derek's forearm on the side that Lydia was holding.

Kyla glanced at Deaton in surprise and was about to ask him just what the hell he thought he was doing, but the cut he had opened sealed almost immediately behind the scalpel. "I'm not an expert in Lycanthropy," she said slowly. "But I have both injured, and cared for enough previously injured werewolves to know that that was way too fast."

"What does it mean?" Lydia asked worriedly.

Kyla shook her head. She had no idea what it meant. She hadn't seen enough werewolves injured to know what the typical healing time frame was. She only knew that it was drastically accelerated compared to a human. Deaton shrugged as well. "I'm not sure. Let's try something else. Lydia grab me a five millimeter syringe, top drawer."

Kyla frowned slightly, not sure how she felt about this direction. It would royally piss her off if someone started doing medical experiments on her while she was unconscious.

Lydia flitted away to get what Deaton had asked for and the druid himself went to get something else. Kyla stayed were she was, she had begun to rub random patterns on to the back of Derek's hand with her thumb, humming to herself quietly. Looking down, she realized she was unconsciously tracing healing runes. Of course, the runes wouldn't work on a werewolf anyway. She had tried to spark some kind of healing process for Derek but it had been like his system was unconsciously resisting it. The only thing that Kyla could attribute that to was the fact that apart from being younger Derek was actually physically healthy.

Derek's hand twitched in hers and Kyla stilled. Then she winced and withdrew her hand sharply as five long claws dug in to her skin. Slowly, Derek pulled himself up to a sitting position. "Derek?" she said gently. "Derek can you hear me?"

The werewolf ignored her and instead focused in on the higher pitched voice of Lydia asking the same thing. Deaton's soothing tone saying that they were friends didn't seem to be helping. Derek's breathing was labored and Kyla reached out tentatively and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Derek-"

She broke off when she found that Derek's eyes had turned electric blue and his canine teeth had elongated in to fangs. Suddenly the memory of how the older Derek had reacted to her scent on one of the first occasions that they had been face to face flashed across her mind. He hadn't been fully in control them either and had had to take several minutes to get a handle on himself. That had been a version of Derek with at least half a decade more experience than this one. _Oh damn... _

Then suddenly he ducked his head and blocked his ears with both hands. Suddenly he shoved Deaton in to the wall and spun around towards Kyla, zeroing in on her. Kyla backed up slowly. "Lydia," she said with controlled calm. "I'm going to need to run now. Call Scott as soon as you take care of Deaton, go it?" She didn't wait for a response. Instead she spun around and ran like a hellhound was after her. Unlike some people, she actually had the experience to make that comparison.

* * *

Derek sat frozen in the wreckage where his house should have been. Nothing made any sense! His mind was a terrifying mess of blank spots. His body was filled with a thrumming, nervous energy and all of his senses seemed even more magnified than usual. Every sound and every smell was immediately brought to his attention. The remains of his house seemed completely abandoned. The familiar scents of his family members were completely absent and the whole place smelled like ash and machinery.

Ever since he had managed to calm down enough to stop moving he had had the terrible sensation that he had missed something, but all of his memories seemed to be in the right placed before they cut off into emptiness. It was as though his mind was searching for memories that should be there, only Derek had no clue what might be _missing. _The feeling was like walking up stairs in the dark and taking an extra step only to find that there was nothing to put your foot on.

His control was even worse than normal. He had gotten good enough at keeping himself in check that he only ever had trouble with it on a full moon. Yet had chased the girl from the animal clinic through almost three miles of forest before losing her and finding himself at the Danger Keep Out sign on the fence around the wreckage of his home. He couldn't even pick out details about the girl he had chased apart from the smell of moonlight, long auburn hair, and dark green eyes. She had to be fast to since she had managed to get away from him.

The sounds of tires on the road, the slamming of car doors, and two sets of approaching boots registered in Derek's hearing but he ignored them. "Excuse me young man!" a polite voice with an edge of authority to it called. The voice didn't sound like the speaker could actually be much older than him and Derek didn't react.

The other man laughed derisively. "You're calling him young man?"

"Shut up Haig," the first voice said with an edge of annoyance. The footsteps got closer but Derek still didn't react. "I'm sorry but you can't be here."

"Hey dumb ass!" the man his partner had called Haig said loudly. "You ever hear of no trespassing?"

Ager and annoyance spiked through Derek at that. _He lived here! _His family owned private property. If anyone was trespassing it was the two of them! He spun around, staying crouched to the ground and his eyes found two unfamiliar men wearing deputy uniforms for the Sheriff's Department. "This is my house," he stated. He turned back to the piled of rubble in front of him. All around he could see remnants of old cabinets and walls that used to form parts of his home.

Haig sounded contemptuous. "No one's been here for years kid now get the hell out."

"Haig!" His partner shot at him sternly. "Maybe a slightly gentler touch?" Derek heard the kinder of the two shift a bit nearer to him. "Are you alright?" he asked. "We can help you if something's wrong."

Derek barely processed what he was saying. _Years? _That's what the other deputy had said. No one had lived here for years. But he wasn't years older! He and his family had all been living here only a few... There it was again. Derek couldn't remember how long ago the gap in his memories went. "What happened to my house?" he asked hopelessly. "Where's my family? Where's my mother?" His mother would know how to help him. HIs mother always knew how to help.

Haig ignored him and grabbed his arm, yanking him up. The confusion and distress Derek had been feeling turned to anger and boiled over. He yanked his arm free, not caring how much strength he used and twisted the deputies arm at a sharp angle. All of the Hales were taught to fight before the change ever had a chance to take hold. The more prepared they were the better in case the hunters showed up. Not all the hunters were bad though. Kate was different.

"Hey!" the nicer of the two deputies exclaimed. "Hey just take it easy!" Derek spun towards him, anger still bubbling in his chest. "Haig stand down!" Derek heard the deputy order. A Cold shock ran through him witch immediately turned to the burn of electricity. He jerked and staggered.

Then a female voice he vaguely recognized met his ears. "What the hell are you doing?" the voice's owner demanded to know. He heard the sounds of running feet and then the sound of one of the men being shoved out of the way. The shocking ceased and Derek curled in to a ball with his knees to his chest as he tried to regain his breathing. The one good thing about the physical pain was that it had stopped him from transforming in front of these humans.

"Hey," the girls voice said. Derek sensed that the girl had crouched down in front of him. "It's alright," she said gently. Then in a very soft voice, so quiet that he could only pick it up with his wolf hearing she said. "Derek look at me." Derek looked up to see the girl he had chased through the woods. Strangely, she didn't look afraid of him. Instead she looked concerned, like she was worried about him.

The improbable mix of the smell of sunshine, moonlight, and something close to roses brushed across his nose. he breathed in deeply on a reflex and felt his eyes flash blue. He buried his head against his knees again and tried desperately to calm down. _Alpha, Beta, Omega, _he repeated to himself the way that Peter had taught him. _Alpha, Beta, Omega. Alpha, Beta... _It wasn't working.

"Focus," the girl advised. "You need to find something steady. Focus on my heartbeat if you have to." Derek immediately picked up the steady rhythm of her heart. It sounded a bit different from the two deputies. It was a little faster, smooth, and steady. His eyes shifted back to normal and the burning in his gums vanished as they stopped anticipating the arrival of his teeth.

"Good," the auburn girl said. Her fingers had closed lightly on his wrists, monitoring his pulse and Derek looked up. Her eyes really were incredibly green. "Now match your breathing with mine if you can." She began to take slow, deep breaths and Derek copied her. He could feel the pounding of his heart slow against his rib cage. With all of his focus on the girl his eyes, nose, and ears felt less hypersensitive.

This girl obviously knew more about what was going on than the two deputies did. She had seen him as a werewolf and she hadn't seemed afraid. She had run, but she didn't seem scared of him. Derek caught sight of the black mark of an eye on the back of her right hand and something clicked. "Shadowhunter," he breathed.

The girl nodded. "I'm not here to hurt you she promised. The deputies won't either. But I think you'll have to go with them for a bit."

"What happened to my house?" Derek asked her again. Hopelessness felt like it was wringing out his insides. "Where's my family?"

The girl looked almost like she wanted to give him a hug or maybe even cry. Her hands tightened around his. "I can't say very much," she said. "I didn't know your family. They're not here right now. I know where your uncle Peter is though. You can see him later maybe. I've got some friends who will explain things, they just need to figure out some stuff first."

Derek met the girls eyes, her heart hadn't indicated that she was lying, and she did know something about what had happened. So he gave her a small nod. His head felt like someone had filled it with cotton and his entire body hurt from the deputy's tazer. His eyes shut and his head drifted forward landing on top of his knees. The girl's left hand was trapped between his right hand and his head. Derek felt her right hand come free of his left and her fingers brushed lightly against his hair.

"Kyla do you know this boy?" the nicer of the two deputies asked. _Kyla, _Derek thought. The girl's name was Kyla. The name seemed achingly familiar somehow.

Derek sensed the girls anger pick up but it wasn't directed at him. "I know him well enough to know he'd already had a hell of a bad day before you and your trigger happy friend showed up Parrish!" Kyla sounded severe as she told the deputies off. "Help me get him to your car. Not you!" she snapped as Haig moved to obey her. "You tazed him. Parrish you help."

"I don't see why he can't just walk," Haig muttered sulkily.

Deputy Parrish helped Kyla moved Derek so that he was standing up. They began to walk to the police car. "Gee I don't know," Kyla said sarcastically. Derek could feel her anger at the deputy spiking. "Let's taze you and tell you to get up and walk and see what happens."

Despite the situation and the pain he was in as Kyla and the deputy helped him in to the car, Derek felt his mouth form a slight smirk at her words. Kyla was looking down at him. "Unless you want me to sit on your lap you had better scoot over."

"Worse things have happened," Derek couldn't help saying cheekily. He felt slightly pleased as a small blush crept through Kyla's face. Pretty didn't do the girl justice. Beautiful was more accurate. Where Kate was all purposeful movements and careful words Kyla was more natural and calm. She was more like Paige. Derek immediately slammed the door on those memories. That was one set of cuts that hadn't had time to heal yet.

Kyla rolled her eyes but a small smile formed on her mouth. "Fine," she retorted climbing in to the car to perch delicately on top of him pulling the car door shut behind her. "Remember that this one was your idea." She reached behind her, her arm contorting to reach the seatbelt strap. Derek simply shifted her so that her back was more towards the window and wrapped his arms around her middle. She was small enough that his arm covered her midsection and still had length left to go. Kyla looked at him and shrugged muttering. "Probably safer than a seatbelt anyway."

Haig checked on them through the rearview mirror and sneered as he saw their seating arrangement. Derek gave the man his iciest of dark glares until the deputy looked away. He tipped his head back against the seat and blinked, trying to stay awake.

Kyla shifted slightly, covering his hand with one of hers. "Sleep," she ordered. "You need it. I'll wake you up when we get to the station.

Almost as soon as the words were out of the Nephilim girl's mouth, Derek was unconscious.

* * *

Kyla didn't understand why she had to be handcuffed to the bench. She had gotten away when Derek was chasing her by running through a stream and masking her scent. Her converse and the hems of her jeans were still drying after that maneuver. On a hunch, she had doubled back to the Hale House in time to see Haig taze Derek.

The younger version of the werewolf when he was conscious was a bit of a surprise. He seemed less damaged by the world for a start. Younger Derek was more sarcastic and more confident judging from his seating comment. Kyla wondered if this version of Derek had completely vanished as he got older, or if the Derek she knew simply buried him.

At the Sherriff's Station, Derek had been finger printed and they had both been handcuffed to the same bench they had been attached to when the noitsune had put a bomb on the Sheriff's desk. Fun times. It was a good thing she hadn't been fingerprinted to. The number of supposed crime scenes where her prints could probably be found would definitely raise a few flags.

Parrish approached with the handcuff key and released Kyla first before turning to Derek. He glanced over to where his partner was sitting at the computer. "The other deputy thinks I'm an idiot for asking this," he started. "But I have a feeling that if I take your cuffs off your going to be okay. And I think your going to help us so we can figure out what happened to your family and get you out of here. Am I right?"

"The other deputy is the idiot," Derek said quietly. Kyla wondered what it meant when she could see more resemblance to the older him when he was insulting people.

A grin spread across Parrish's face. "Can't argue with that." Then he left to inspect whatever Haig had found on the computer.

Kyla frowned slightly. What had happened to Derek's family was that they had been burned to death by the same psychopath that aged him backwards. Derek clearly had some kind of amnesia, and Kyla knew from dealing with Jason that trying to explain that would not go over well. Derek seemed to have gone back to the same age mentally as the one he was now at physically. How old was he then? sixteen, seventeen? Come to think of it, Kyla didn't even know how old older Derek was.

"I've run the kid's prints eight times," Haig said with frustration. "This is all that comes up."

Parrish frowned. "Derek Hale?"

_Shit _Kyla thought to herself. Derek had been arrested at least three other times. Of course his finger prints were in the police database. Probably a mug shot to go with them. She was willing to bet that the picture would not be a version of Derek that looked very much like the one she was sitting next to.

"Did you say Hale?" the familiar tones of Sherriff Stillinski asked as the man walked in to the room and examined the computer. Kyla let out a relieved breath and thanked the gods for whatever intervention they had pulled for this. The Sherriff stared at the computer screen for a long moment. Then he looked up at Derek. Then back to the computer.

Derek's eyebrows shot up questioningly as the Sherriff came around the desk and crouched in front of him, squinting. He angled his head from side to side and Kyla knew what he was seeing. He was seeing a wide forehead, hazel green eyes, particular ears, black hair, equally dark eye brows, a full mouth, and a half skeptical half board expression. Kyla shot him a pleading look, begging him to understand and not say anything. The Sherriff backed up again and looked back at the picture on the computer.

Stiles and Scott shot in to the room and the Sherriff let out a relieved breath. "I'll handle this," he said to the deputies, trying to keep his voice under control. He jerked his thumb at the two boys and then to his office. He turned back to Kyla and hurriedly waved her in as well.

Kyla looked down at Derek. "You going to be okay?" she asked.

He nodded once and released the hand he had gripped automatically when they were both released from the handcuffs.

She tried to give him a reassuring smile. "If you start loosing it listen to my heartbeat," she advised quietly. "I'll be back in a moment." Then she got up and slipped in to the office.

* * *

The Sherriff slammed the door shut behind her and leaned back against his desk, looking at her, Scott, and Stiles. "I want you to be honest with me," he said. "Absolutely, and completely, honest with me. Scott held up his hand in a gesture to go ahead, Stiles jittered slightly, Kyla simply looked at him. Her answer would probably depend on his question. "Have you been time traveling?"

"Hang on, _what_?" Stiles said, completely taken off guard by the question. Scott looked like he was trying to prepare some sort of explanation.

"Because if time travelling is real, you know what, I'm done!" the Sherriff proclaimed, using his hands to emphasize his point. "I'm out! _**You** _are going to be driving **_me_**to Eichen House!"

Stiles tried to clam his dad down. "We haven't been time traveling okay? That's still completely unreal."

Kyla cleared her throat awkwardly, thinking of the time when she, Clary, Jace, and the Lightwoods had ended up in 1878 due to a portal malfunction. "Well, technically..."

Stiles looked at her dumbfounded. "Seriously?" he asked. "Time traveling? _You've gone time traveling!" _

"Only once," Kyla said. She looked at the Sherriff. A vein n his temple looked like it might be about to pop. "It was a complete accident," she tried to reassure him. "Never to be repeated."

Scott decided to cut in. "We found him like that."

"**_Where?!"_** the Sherriff demanded. "Swimming in the Fountain of Youth!?"

"No that one is still a myth," Kyla told him. "And I mean really a myth not like my mom. She's technically in a myth but she's real. The Fountain of Youth is like _actually _a myth."

Stiles stopped her from saying anything else by starting his explanation. "No. We found him buried in a tomb of wolfs bane. In an Aztec temple in Mexico underneath a church in the middle of a town that was destroyed by an earthquake." He stopped talking when he caught the looks of Scott and Kyla which very clearly told him that he was not helping.

"You told me you went camping!" the Sherriff said, his voice dropping in volume as he struggled to keep his cool.

"Well," Kyla said. "Technically we were camping."

Stiles nodded. "Yeah! Just... in Mexico."

The Sherriff gestured at his son wordlessly. He looked like he was trying to form words but couldn't quite remember how. Scott seized his opportunity. "Derek's been aged backwards," he explained. "He can't remember anything. He chased Kyla three miles in to the woods this morning."

"We just need to talk to him," added Stiles.

The Sherriff sat and gestured to Kyla. "So far the only one he'll talk to is Kyla."

Scott glanced at her and then craned his head back around to look at Derek. The Alpha frowned. "It looks like he's started to try and listen to something."

"Me," Kyla provided.

Scott's head snapped back around and Stiles stared at her. "Why is he trying to hear you?" The ADHD boy asked.

She shrugged. "Not my voice," she explained. "My heartbeat. When I found him he had just been tazed and looked like he was about to lose it on Haig and Parrish. I told him to listen to my heartbeat until he calmed down. When I came in here I told him to keep using it if he needed." She shrugged again in the face of the boys still struck looks. "That's what werewolves do for control right? Focus on one thing."

"Not normally a person," Scott said with a slow shake of the head. "We call it an anchor. I used to use Allison but that was weird. Derek always told me he used anger."

"According to Peter he used a girl named Paige for a while," Stiles babbled. "But then he had to kill her so..." he trailed off as he saw Kyla staring at him. Well, that explained why Derek's wolf eyes were blue. It also explained why this younger version of Derek still had sadness in his eyes. Gods, to him this girls death was probably still fresh. And if he had had to kill her... Her thoughts trailed off then.

Scott shook his head, dismissing the subject from his head. "Let's go talk to him then. I am an Alpha. maybe that'll help.

They all went to walk out of the room but the Sherriff held Kyla back. "Nuh uh," he said. "I don't care who you're keeping calm you still have paper work to fill out before I can let you go.

* * *

Half an hour and several pages of highly unnecessary paperwork later they were allowed to leave. Scott sped off on his motor bike to talk to Peter and with much grumbling Stiles had loaded Kyla and Derek in to his jeep. Derek had grabbed Kyla's hand absently as if for reassurance and her arm was stretched over the back seat towards him. His skin still burned against hers and Kyla tried not to worry too much about his feverish temperature.

"Okay," Stiles said as they entered the McCall house. "We're just going to sit and wait for Scott. We're going to sit quietly and we're not going to call or talk to anybody. Okay?"

"Do I talk to either of you?" Derek asked.

"You can talk to me," Kyla told him at the same time as Stiles said, "No."

Derek narrowed his eyes at Stiles. Even aged backwards Derek was substantially bigger than him. "Fine," he said with a flatness that had obviously carried through into his adult life.

"Good." Stiles said fervently.

Kyla managed to see Agent McCall standing in the living room at the same time that Derek did. "Whose going to talk to him?" Derek questioned.

Stiles let out a startled yelp of surprise He talked with his hands the same way his dad did. "Are you getting taller?" he demanded irritably.

The FBI agent furrowed his eyebrows at the three (two?) teenagers in front of him. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Waiting for Scott," Derek said simply.

"Yeah me to," the agent said. "We were supposed to have dinner," he held up a large take out bag. "I brought extra, are you guys hungry?" Kyla felt her heart softening towards the agent a little bit. He may not be fantastic but he was at least making an effort as a parent. He was even trying to do something nice for his kid's friends.

"Yes," Derek and Kyla said fervently at the same time Stiles said "No. We're not hungry."

Derek stared at him. "No I'm starving." Kyla was to. Running three miles on an empty stomach meant the need to do major calorie replacement. Derek probably hadn't eaten since being thrown in to the Aztec tomb gods only knew how long ago.

Stiles persisted. "None of us are hungry. Thanks though."

Agent McCall looked at him levely. "Well if you're not hungry Stiles, Kyla and your friend can still eat with us," he looked at Derek. "What's your name?"

"Miguel," Stiles cut in before Derek could say anything. He gave Derek an awkward pat on the shoulder as Kyla and Derek both looked at him strangely. Why Miguel of all names. "My cousin Miguel," Stiles continued. "From Mexico," he glanced down at where Kyla was still holding Derek's hand. "Who is dating Kyla apparently."

Raising an eyebrow, Agent McCall said, "Es estaro natural de Mejico Miguel?"

Kyla silently crossed her fingers in the hopes that Derek had taken Spanish in high school. Derek opened his mouth and answered smoothly. "Yo no soy nativo. Pero me paso mas tiempo alli." Apparently Derek had been very good at Spanish in high school.

"Fantastic," Agent McCall said satisfied. "Want an eggroll?"

* * *

Half way through dinner Agent McCall asked. "What did you say your last name was Miguel?"

Stiles cut in again. "It's Juarez. Cinqua, de Arro."

Kyla cut him a look. Seriously? He hadn't been able to come up with anything else? "That's a-" Agent McCall said. "That's a mouthful. How do you spell that?"

Derek shot Stiles a look, the subtext of which seemed to be; you got yourself into this one. I'm not going down with you. Stiles let out a huff. "Phonetically," he muttered. He shot a murderous look at Kyla who shrugged. It wasn't her fault he hadn't been able to come up with a normal last name.

Derek's eyes landed on Agent McCall's badge. If they were in a cartoon a little light bulb would have been flashing above his head. "Mr. McCall you're an FBI agent," _Oh shit._

Kyla swallowed her mouth full of noodles. Stiles seemed to feel something bad coming as well. "Low level," he intervened. "Very low level. Doesn't even have a voice..."

"Do you investigate murders?" Derek pushed. Kyla reminded herself to keep calm. He might honestly be interested in what an FBI agent did.

Agent McCall shrugged. "Sometimes. If it's a federal crime."

"What about fires." Screw calm. _Shit._

_"_Hey Stiles," she tried to interrupt casually. "Shouldn't Scott be here by now? Maybe you should go call him." Stiles nodded frantically and pulled out his phone.

"What kind of fires are you talking about?" Agent McCall continued calmly on with his conversation.

_Here we go. _Kyla thought. "Do you know anything about the Hale family?"

* * *

Stiles's head slammed in to the wall with a painful smack. Kyla had managed to avoid the same fate by some miracle of luck. Maybe Derek wasn't angry enough yet. Maybe it was within Hale family policy not to hit girls. Doubtful. "Okay I didn't lie," Stiles's said, his face still smashed in to the wall. "I omitted certain truths. Vital truths now that I think about it."

Derek pushed away from the wall. "I don't want to talk to you!" he said angrily. "I want to talk to the alpha. I'll talk to Scott!"

"Okay," Stiles said, backing towards Scott's bedroom door. "I'm going to go get him. My phone's downstairs. I'm going to call him real quick. You stay there. You can just hang out with Kyla. Kiss her or something if it would make you feel better." Kyla glared at him as he swiftly backed from the room. "Don't move!" he cried doubling back. Then he vanished back down the hall mumbling inaudibly.

Derek spun on Kyla. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"It wasn't my business to," Kyla said quietly. "Everything had gone wrong for you already today, and I don't know enough about what happened to answer your questions," she bit her lower lip, watching him carefully. He seemed o be calming down slightly. "I've had a few friends get amnesia before," she explained. "You can't just provide answers when someone has no memory. You have to just try to find a way to help them remember by themselves."

Derek took a deep breath and sat on the bed. "Okay," he murmured, rubbing his temples before looking up sharply. "You owe me a couple answers then. Questions about you not me." Kyla nodded. "Why is a Shadowhunter hanging around with a pack?"

Kyla sat on Scott's desk chair and turned it to face him. "My friends are in it for one," she said simply. "Second, well, you've noticed I smell different. thanks to my moms side of the family, lots of monsters catch that scent and think 'lunch'. That's why you chased me this morning. Being in a werewolf back blocks that scent a bit. It's good protection."

He frowned. "What's on your mother's side of the family?"

"Something a bit more dangerous than Shadowhunters," she said. "Or Nephilim. It's a bit of along story and I'm going to need something to drink before I tell it," she stood. "Do you want anything?" he shook his head and Kyla nodded. "Okay, I'll be back in a moment."

* * *

Like most things, that didn't work out according to plan. Instead Kyla ended up securely locked and barricaded inside the McCall's bathroom and ended up doing a perfectly executed triple flip out the bathroom window. If a gymnastics judge had been there, she'd have gotten high points.

Locking in on Derek, she managed to track him to the school and skidded to a stop, almost colliding with Peter's white V-neck wearing chest as he ran up a set of stairs. The werewolf simply grabbed her arm and began dragging her in the opposite direction of where she had been going. "Kate brought Berserkers," he said by way of explanation. "They will flatten our skulls and I prefer mine three dimensional."

Being unable to argue with that line of reasoning Kyla allowed Peter to tow her along. She had heard of Berserkers several times before and done research on them after hearing Chris Argent talk about having to kill one. "Bad" didn't come close to covering them.

She and Peter rounded the corner at the entrance to the school and Peter tugged her down a set of stairs sunk into the pavement under the high school sign that Kyla could swear weren't there during regular school hours. As best she could tell, what they were in was a vault. A really big fancy one. Peter stopped cold and gestured fro Kyla to remain silent.

Kate and Derek were standing in the middle of the room. Derek was holding a box and Kate was examining a small pendant with a triple spiral carved in to it. "This is it?" she said a bit skeptically your sure?"

"Yeah," Derek said with a touch of annoyance.

Kate frowned. "It doesn't look like much."

"That's because it isn't," Peter said, entering dramatically down another set of stairs with a stream of bluish light behind him. Kyla crept out as well but stayed behind him. If Kate went all werejaguar on them she was more than willing to let Peter be target numero uno. "It's quite an elaborate scheme you have here Kate," he commented, moving confidently through the vault towards Kate. "Two countries, Aztec temples, Derek returned to a teenager. One that trusted you," he paused for effect. "One that loved you."

Kyla paused momentarily. It was taking her brain a minute to absorb that particular bullet of information. She sure was learning a lot about Derek's ex-girlfriends today. If you added in the Darach the pattern seemed to be dead, sociopath, sociopath. That didn't say wonderful things about where she might be headed. The only one who looked like he was having more trouble with this situation than her was Derek. Reasonable, after all, the last time he had seen Peter or Kate they had both been a minimum of about five years younger.

"All this complication just to get in to our vault," Peter continued. "Just to get your hands on that little piece of junk. Turn it over go ahead," he said confidently as he got within arms reach of Kate ad her murderous stare. "There' a scraped on the back where it used to say made in China."

Kate raised her head and glared even harder. If looks could kill Peter would have been six feet under. "Your lying."

Peter held up his hands. "I'll admit I might have a slight tendency to over exaggerate a little bit, but in this case the truth is so much more fun." That was something Kyla could believe. Peter was like the one of the fairfolk. Tell the truth with a twist always unless being completely honest would hurt more. "I'm sorry sweetheart," Peter said with mock sympathy. "That little pendant is just a physical object to focus on it's training wheels. Talia used it to teach Laura, and I tried to use it to teach Derek."

A roar sounded and Peter and Derek's head both shot up. Derek's eyes flashed blue as his body responded to his Alpha's call for help. Kate grabbed his shirt. "Is it true?" she demanded. "Is this real?" she shook the triskele.

Derek just searched around panickedly, his eyes settled on Kyla. "That was Scott! I just heard Scott! I have to help-"

"Tell me!" Kate shrieked, her voice taking on an inhuman quality.

With a quick shove, Derek broke free of Kate. "I don't know and I don't care!" he shouted at her, sprinting for the stairs. He grabbed Kyla by the elbow as he went, pulling her out of the vault. Kyla sprinted to keep pace with him. His legs were a whole lot longer than hers. Being able to get away from him in the woods this morning had been a miracle. On reflection she realized she was doing a lot of getting dragged around by the Hale men that night. Oh well.

Now, normally running straight at two berserkers was a similar level on the bad idea scale as trying to play fetch with a hell hound that wasn't Mrs. Oleary, or deciding that walking from the fairy realm in to a hell dimension was the right thing to do. But when you actually do really stupid things, only a very small portion of your brain is actually telling you it's a stupid thing to do.

Kyla launched in to fighting beside Derek. She abandoned her bow and instead pressed the charm on her bracelets. Two wickedly sharp bronze hunting knives sprang in to her hands. It was an incredible experience really. Partner fighting was a bit like dancing. The more in tune you were with your partner the better it would go, and the more practice you had together the better. That was why most _Parabatai _picked their partners when they were twelve or thirteen. Fighting with Derek was like dancing. Effortless and simple. Time seemed to slow down like she had forever to plan her movements. It was almost like it had been choreographed.

Derek used a selection of krav maga that Kyla didn't know he possessed and she applied gymnastics to flip ad turn in deadly and unpredictable arcs. Dimly she realized that Derek's body seemed to be flickering. His teenaged self seemed to be rippling and vanishing in to the Derek she knew. The longer the fight went on the more he seemed to change. His height increased by a good six inches, his chest morphed and expanded to fill his green t-shirt o that the fabric was stretched snugly across his muscles. It was like watching a sped up growth film.

Suddenly his hands closed around her waist, lifting her up and launching her so that she could get a hit in at the Berserkers' heads. She landed by bending her knees and rolling when she hit the ground. When she looked up she found that the creatures had run. The skin over her hips was burning and looking down Kyla found that there were five holes ripped straight through her jeans and in to her skin. When Derek had grabbed her his claws had been out.

The newly human hands were closing around her sides and lifting her up off the ground. She found herself on her feet facing a newly adult Derek. His hands were clenching and unclenching around her waist. Kyla felt the edges of claws digging in to her skin, puncturing the fabric in different places. Derek's head was down and she thought his eyes were shut. He was holding her just slightly closer than arms length, close enough the Kyla could feel his body heat.

"Derek?" she asked tentatively. "Are you grown up you again?"

He lifted his head, eyes still shut tight and nodded. Then his eye lids flicked open and Kyla momentarily paused. Instead of deep husky colored blue, Derek's eyes were a shining amber gold. "Okay we can deal with that later," she mumbled. Then she threw her arms around his neck. After a moment, Derek's arms came up and crushed her in to his chest. She could feel herself being lifted up on to her toes as Derek pressed his head against the small gap where her neck met her shoulder. "Your alive," Kyla repeated. "Thank gods your alive."

Slowly Derek pulled back. His eyes were still burning gold. "Yeah," he said hoarsely. He was staring at her, just taking her in. "Yeah I'm alive."

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry about the longer wait on this chapter. There was just so much more to put in! How did I do here? It's my longest chapter yet. Next chapter will pick up after the events of 4x02 and carry threw 4x03. I'm thinking some making out might be good here yes? Tell me what you think! Review for me!**

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxooxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxooxoxxoxoxoxoxooxoxxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxoxo**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Kyla and the details you don't recognize from anywhere else.**

Stiles, Scott, and Malia and dropped Kyla and Derek off back at Derek's loft. Lydia had taken Kira home in her car. Kyla shut the door behind her and leaned back against it. It had begun to rain again and her skin was damp. Strands of her hair were sticking to her neck and cheek. She brushed them back behind her ears absently, as she watched Derek move around the loft, checking that everything was more or less the way he had left it.

When his inspection was complete he looked back at Kyla. "Thanks for taking care of the place."

She nodded knowing that her scent had probably been left behind on a few of the occasions she had come by to ensure that Peter hadn't trashed the place. "No problem. I couldn't kick Peter out though."

"That's something I can do," Derek said evenly, not moving his eyes from hers. "Peter, get out!" It was an order, nothing less.

Kyla, who hadn't even noticed that Derek's uncle was in the room jumped slightly as his form rose from the shadows of an arm chair. "We need to talk," Peter stated. "The vault was robbed-"

"It still will have been robbed later," Derek stated. The way he was watching her made Kyla very slightly unsure about what exactly would happen when Peter left the room.

Peter rolled his eyes. "And your little girlfriend will still be accessible later to. I think being robbed is just slightly more pressing. Sorry sweetheart," he added to Kyla.

Derek ignored his uncle and simply walked towards Kyla. In the next moment, Derek's lips were on hers and Kyla's eyes slammed shut. She was pinned between the hard metal of the door and the firm wall of muscle that was Derek's chest. Kyla's arms snaked upwards of their own accord and wrapped themselves around his neck, pulling her on to the tips of her toes to reach properly. One of Derek's arms snuck between her and the door, wrapping tightly around her waist. His warm fingers brushed against her skin where her shirt had pulled up and Kyla gasped reflexively at the feeling of the rough pads of his fingers against her skin. Derek took advantage of the opening and sipped his tongue in to her mouth. His free hand ghosted up her spine to anchor in her hair so that he could angle her head and explore her mouth thoroughly.

Through the thick haze in her mind, Kyla dimly heard Peter mutter something about getting the point. Derek's arm tightened around Kyla's waist, lifting her off the ground. He moved them over slightly and when her feet touched the ground, Kyla's back was pressed back against the wall. Her lungs were screaming from lack of oxygen but she didn't really care. Derek must have been able to tell though because his lips separated from hers and began to work their way across her jaw.

Kyla kept her arms locked around his shoulders. Her hands slid up his neck to tangle in his hair. She had to remind herself to actually breath. With Derek's mouth working towards the hollow where her ear met her jaw that was actually very difficult.

"We will be talking about this tomorrow," Peter warned as he pulled the loft door open.

"Fine," Derek muttered, his lips quickly returning to her skin. The door clanged shut as Peter left, muttering something about hormones.

After another moment, Kyla tugged Derek's mouth back to hers. This kiss was a bit les frantic than the first and Kyla broke it very slowly as she dropped back on to the flats of her feet. "I'm really glad your not dead," she whispered. "Or a teenager. That was just weird."

Derek's eyes flashed their new golden color as he looked at her and pressed his lips back to hers. He moved back only about an inch, still close enough that Kyla could feel his lips move against hers. "I'm glad I'm not dead to." Then his mouth was back against hers.

Kyla felt his hands trial over her waist and pause there slightly. His finger tips ghosted lightly over the rips in her jeans from his claws earlier. The kiss slowed as his fingertips gently probed the healing skin below the punctured denim. He pulled away slightly and looked down at her, trying to judge weather or not the cuts were causing her pain. "It's fine," Kyla murmured. She let her finger tips trace tiny patterns along his neck and shoulders. "They're not deep. I can already feel them heeling."

Derek's eyes darkened a bit and he took a step back. "I'll get rubbing alcohol."

She shook her head. "There's no point. They'll be healed ten minutes from now anyway. She looked down and examined the tears in her jeans. "I might need to borrow a pair of sweatpants though. These jeans are toast."

A small smile quirked Derek's mouth as he turned and went to a chest of drawers. He pulled out a pair of old grey sweat pants and T-shirt that had shrunk a bit the last time he had washed it and tossed them to her. "You can change in the bathroom if you want," he offered.

Kyla nodded and slipped through the door to the bathroom, changing quickly. She hated standing around in damp clothes and her top had bee n thoroughly rained on so the t-shirt was nice. As was expected Derek's clothes were huge on her. The shirt fit her like a dress and she had to roll up the sweatpants four or five times and tie them securely before she could walk without tripping.

She left the bathroom to find that Derek had changed as well and was sitting comfortably on the couch. Kyla climbed over the back and joined him, sitting with her legs folded under her. "A few good things did come out of this," she commented.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Care to share?"

Kyla grinned. "Well for one thing, I'm never going to have to ask about what you were like as a teenager."

Derek looked at her a bit skeptically. "And exactly what was I like as a teenager?"

"Total high school jock," Kyla concluded. She could tell from the look on his face that she was dead right. "Confident," she continued. "Sarcastic. I'll bet you were always breaking rules but never getting in trouble. Lots of friends. And judging from how you spoke Spanish you were a good student. So," she looked at him expectantly. "What sport was it? Track, swimming, football... what?"

"Basketball," Derek sighed with defeat. "I played basketball. And shortstop for baseball in the off season."

Kyla just looked at him. "Got lot's of awards?" she assumed.

"M.V.P," he confirmed. "What other good things came from me getting turned in to a teenager? Because from my point of view that pretty much all just sucked."

Her eyebrows went up. "Well," she started. "I'll never have to wonder about how I compare to your ex-girlfriends. If I ever think I've screwed up all I have to do is remember that I'm not a sociopath and then I'm sure I'll feel much better."

Derek's face darkened a bit. "Fair enough," he said darkly.

Kyla shifted closer to him and curled a bit in to his side. "It's not like I'm judging or anything," she told him. "Slightly questioning how exactly that ended up happening. A question you don't need to answer by the way. But not judging." Derek looked down at her with a questioning look. 'You were a kid," she said simply. "Kids screw up. It's just that when your like us that means people die. That's why we all grow up fast."

There was a long moment of silence and Derek curled his arm around her, his fingers messing with a few long strands of hair. "Speaking of growing up fast," Kyla continued. "How old are you?" He looked down at her with one eye brow raised. "What?" Kyla defended. "I don't know! You've never told me!"

Derek grabbed his wallet off the side table and tossed it to her. "Here," he said.

She looked up at him and said with a straight face. "Are you buying me off?"

"My drivers license is inside," Derek said rolling his eyes. "It has my year of birth on it."

Kyla opened the wallet and found several credit cards, a few hundred dollars in cash, and the license he had been referring to. His birthdate was listed as September twelfth 1990. "Okay," Kyla said so six years and a coupe of months older than me. This I can work with. For a minute I was kind of worried you were thirty four or something."

He snorted. "That's closer to Peter," he said. "He's thirty two."

"And according to him you guys are multi-millionaires," Kyla observed, handing his wallet back to him. "When we get all your money back I'm going to let you buy me a new pair of jeans. I actually have an idea about how to do that if your up for it."

Derek looked at her expectantly. "What?"

"Braeden."

* * *

Early in the morning nearly a week later, the mercenary girl in question entered the loft and kicked her feet up on the coffee table to have a talk with Derek and Peter as Kyla got together her things for school. Peter eyed Braeden's shoes with distaste. "That table's Italian," he informed her.

"So are these boots," Braeden spiked back. "Are we going to talk fashion and interior design or are we going to talk numbers?"

Peter sighed and scribbled out a number on apiece of paper before sliding Braeden the paper and pen. Braeden looked at the number crossed it out, and wrote a new one, sliding it back across the table. Peter read it and then looked up. "We're hiring you to find Kate not assassinate the president."

"I was hired by the Calaveras, to find Kate," Braeden pointed out. "You're hiring me to find her first. Going against the Calaveras is what's going to cost you." That made sense. It was kind of like contractor insurance.

Peter wrote down a new number. Braeden didn't even look at it before handing the paper back. "Uhg," Peter huffed standing up and going to the window. Derek, who hadn't participated much in negotiations until that point simly shredded the paper. "We'll pay," he said. Peter stared at him incredulously. "Just find Kate. That's all we want."

"Relax Peter," Kyla called as she made her way down the spiral staircase. She reached the floor. "When she's done with her job that won't even be a dent."

Braeden examined her carefully. Kyla had crashed at Derek's loft for the night having been too tired to go home after another night spent searching for Kate. Derek had watched her trying to stay awake in his car and simply gone to his loft, carried her inside, and put her down on his bed to sleep. Kyla had stated leaving a small duffel bag of spare clothes in the upstairs of Derek's loft in case of emergency and had changed in to a pale grey top with thin straps and blue floral print on light floaty material, jeans, converse, and a grey sweater. "I'll tell you what," Braeden said. "Because I actually had some nice girl time with Kyla when we were getting Derek out of Mexico, I'll knock off a quarter."

* * *

"Are you insane!" Peter demanded as soon as the door had shut behind Braeden.

"We didn't have a choice," Derek told his fuming uncle. "We've spent nearly a week looking for Kate and come up with nothing! Kyla has people on the look out for her, but unless we get incredibly lucky Braeden is our best option."

Peter was in no way mollified. "If we don't find out who told Kate about the vault, we don't get those bonds back!. What do you think I'm going to do then huh? Get a **_job._**My resume is slightly out of date." Kyla rolled her eyes. Being dead could do that to a persons job prospects. 'We got robbed Derek!" his uncle continued. "Robbed!" he tried to spin Derek around. His face morphed into it's wolf form, teeth elongating and his eyes flashed golden yellow as he let out a snarl. Peter froze. "Well that's a new look for you," he commented. Derek ripped his arm free. "What happened to your eyes?"

"I don't know," Derek growled. "But I'm willing to pay to find out."

Kyla stepped forward, forcing Peter to take another step back. She went up on to the tips of her toes and slipped her arms around Derek's neck. His eyes faded back to normal as he focused on her. "I'm going to school," she informed him before pressing a kiss against his mouth. Derek's arms twined around her waist and Kyla gave herself a moment to forget everything going on before pulling back. "Now this time when I say pick me up from school," she starts, a tiny smile on her face. "I really do mean pick me up from school. Not get kidnapped and aged backwards by your sociopathic ex-girlfriend."

Derek rolled his eyes. "I'll keep that in mind," his arms still hadn't fully released her. "Am I taking you home or do you have practice?"

"Practice then babysitting," she informed him. "I'll send you a text when Mathew and Lina are asleep and you can pick me up after that." She lent up and gave him one more quick kiss before darting away. School that day was going to be interesting.

* * *

Kyla's first class of the day was math. She had decided to skip watching Scott and Stiles's early morning lacrosse practice in favor of sleeping and getting her homework done. Her algebra two class was one she shared with Stiles, Malia, and Lydia. The four of them had even managed to rearrange the seating o that they were all in a group.

Kyla and Lydia met up outside the classroom and after a moment for Lydia to appraise her fashion choice had gone in and sat down. Stiles entered a moment later towing protesting Malia. "I hate math!" she was protesting. 'What is it good for!"

"It's school," Stiles explained, sitting down behind Malia and next to Kyla. "School is important. Math is essential."

"He's right," Kyla backed Stiles up.

Malia made a wild hand gesture. "For what?" she demanded.

"Knowing how much to tip at restaurants," Stiles explained. Kyla shrugged. That explanation worked as well as anything else.

Lydia spun in her seat which was right in front of Kyla's. "And less important things like medicine, economics, engineering," she listed in her best lecture voice.

Stiles held up a hand. "Yes but also tipping."

The teacher called the class to order. "Alright, I need volunteers for the board. Lydia, Diego, Malia."

Kyla winced on Malia's behalf as the werecoyote protested that he hadn't volunteered. She felt the same way every time a teacher asked her to read out loud. She would never understand why teachers called it volunteering when absolutely nothing about being called on was voluntary. "You've volunteered now," the teacher said flatly to Malia. To the board.

Malia trudged to the chalk board and Kyla watched everyone solve their equations. Malia looked like she was about to panic. Math made sense to Kyla who had solved Malia's equation on the paper in front of her. Malia looked at her helplessly and Kyla made a series of quick hand signals. She held up her fingers in an X and then and = sign before she held up two fingers and then five. Maia sighed with relief and wrote out x=25 just as the teacher came to check her work.

Stiles's phone buzzed and he checked the screen. His face went blank as he showed the message to Kyla. She read it and sighed. Math class and a triple homicide. What a fabulous way to start her school day.

As soon as class was over stiles and Kyla went to explain what they had learned o Scott and Kira. "An axe murdered?" the kitsune questioned.

"A family murdering axe murderer," Stiles confirmed.

"I think you can actually just call that a mass axe murderer," Kyla told him. "If you wanted to try to put it in to an official category."

They kept walking towards the lockers as Scott said. "I kind of already knew about it. My mom called me she knew we'd see it on the news."

"Perfect!" Stiles exclaimed beginning to move back down the hallway towards the door. "Let's go."

Scott called him back. "Wow wow. Slow down. We still have econ in five minutes."

Kyla let out a groan. Between Coach Finstock and the mass axe murdered she wasn't actually sure which one she would rather go up against. "Did you forget the part about the mass axe murdered?" Stiles asked looking between the other three.

"Did you forget that your dad is the Sherriff?" Kyla reminded him. "Maybe we just stay out of this one and let him earn his paycheck. There's no proof that any of this is supernatural yet. For once maybe we can just let the actual adults handle it."

Stiles looked bewildered. "So the three of you, you honestly just want to stay here, go to school go to class?" They all looked at each other and nodded. Kyla was pushing the number of days of school she could miss without being hopelessly behind in all of her classes, and Scott couldn't be doing much better. "I've never heard anything so irresponsible in my life," Stiles scolded before walking away.

"See you at tryouts?" Scott called after him. Stiles waved his arms and headed off down the hall.

"I'm going to get to econ," Kyla said quickly. "I'll tell Coach your coming." Scott nodded and Kyla hurried to her class. Finstock was out of focus that day because of the lacrosse tryouts that afternoon. After school she went outside and saw Derek leaning casually against the side of a black Camaro. She walked over to him. "Where exactly have you been keeping this car?" she questioned.

Derek smirked. "Around," He pushed off from the side of the car and opened the door for her. "Hop in."

Kyla slid in to the seat and found that the whole of the interior was sleek dark leather. "Your family really was loaded wasn't it?"

He shrugged, starting the car as Kyla buckled up. "I thought since this time I actually could pick you up, and I didn't get kidnapped, I met as well use a nicer car."

She smiled. "I like it. Did I miss anything while I was at school?"

"Not really," he said with another shrug. "Braeden brought by a file from the Sherriff's department. Nothing about Kate but apparently the axe murderer actually used a military tomahawk."

She frowned, "I guess that could end up being relevant. I mean nota lot of people can get their hands on those."

Derek nodded and pulled the car up to a stop outside the gym. "We're here. What time is your practice over?"

"Five thirty," Kyla told him. A text flashed across her phone and she checked it with a sigh. "Idiots."

"What?" he asked.

Kyla shook her head and let out a deep breath. "Scott and Stiles broke some freshman's ankle at lacrosse tryouts and now they have to take him to the hospital." More texts flashed and she raised her eyebrows. "Also Kira says Scott kissed her. Stiles is going to help Malia study tonight, and I think Lydia might b developing a crush on Deputy Parrish." She glanced over at him. "We still haven't told Malia that Peter's her dad," she said. "I'm not really sure there is a good way to do that."

"Probably not," Derek admitted. "Being told that someone like Peter is half way biologically responsible for you isn't something anyone wants to find out. He looked down at the steering wheel and Kyla let the subject drop. Talking about his cousin couldn't be the best subject for someone who hadn't had one living in six years. Her family on the other hand was pretty much nothing but cousins.

She leaned over and kissed Derek on the cheek. His stubble scratched slightly against her skin. "I'll see you after babysitting. If it seems like someone is about to die," she held up her phone. "Call me." She began to get out of the car with her gym bag but Derek pulled her back and pressed his lips against hers. She felt his tongue brush against her lower lip and opened her mouth reflexively. When he pulled away again his eyes were gold and Kyla was breathing hard. "What was that for?" she asked.

Derek smirked slightly. "Do I need a reason?" Kyla slowly shook her head. Kissing Derek was amazing. If he felt the urge to do that more often she was doing absolutely nothing to stop him. Derek gestured to the gym. "Go before you miss practice."

Kyla made a face at him and adjusted her bag before climbing out of the Camaro. She watched the car back up and gave a small wave before turning around and heading in to the gym. She was a demigod Shadowhunter who was friends with a banshee, a wolf pack, and a kitsune, with a werewolf boyfriend. Dear gods her life was strange.

**A/N: So how am I doing? I haven't really written kissing scenes much before this so they might have been horrible. Tell me what you thought. I re-posted the last chapter because I heard that there were some problems with the website. I hope you guys likes that one as well. Review for me!xoxoxoxoxoxoxxooxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxooxxoxoxoxooxoxxoxooxoxxooxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxoxooxoxxooxxooxxooxoxoxxoxoooox**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: ahahahahahahahahahah... No.**

Derek was skulking on a rooftop waiting for the Sheriff to clear his deputies from the crime scene. He was good at skulking. Despite being over six feet tall and bulky he seemed to be able to blend in to shadows. The Sheriff had called him late that night, and apologized for waking him up before saying he had something Derek should take a look at.

Of course, Derek had still been awake when Stilinski had called, so the apology was unnecessary. Instead of sleeping, he had been sitting on the couch in Kyla's apartment. She had been attempting to do homework before giving up and passing out with her head on his chest. Derek had decided to let her sleep and made a mental note to tell her about what happened in the morning. He checked his watch. Well, later in the morning.

The last of the deputies cleared off the hospital roof and Derek stepped sideways on the ledge to get a better look at the scene. The Sheriff turned and jumped slightly at seeing him there. Like father like son he supposed. "I guess you've been there long enough to here that we need to be quick about this," Stilinski said as he made his way across the roof towards Derek. "Scott said he called himself a Wendigo."

Derek studied the Wendigo's corpse and nodded. His family had old reports of Wendigos living in Beacon Hills decades ago, but no one had picked up any recent activity. "Cannibalistic shape shifters," he defined. "But, I haven't heard of them in Beacon Hills for a long time. He must have been well hidden."

The wind changed as the helicopters overhead stirred up the air with their blades. He ignored his own scent as well as that of the Sheriff and his deputies. Their was Scott's scent, the smell of pepper, and rot that made up the wendigo, blood and leather which was presumably from the axe murderer, and definitely someone else. "How many people did Scott say were up here?" he asked, wanting to double check what he could sense.

"Just Sean and the axe murderer," Stilinski answered as Derek turned towards the edge of the roof to follow his nose. "Who apparently has no mouth," the Sheriff continued. "You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

The rusty tang of blood crossed his nose and Derek looked down to see a red smear on the edge of the roof. Derek couldn't tell exactly who the blood belonged to but the scent was likely an adolescent male. A small prickle hit the back of Derek's spine. A frightened adolescent male. "There was someone else," he said leaning over the edge of the roof to examine the ground below. "Someone young. Male."

The Sheriff still looked just slightly skeptical. "You can smell his fear?"

Derek lifted his head and looked straight back at the man. "And his blood."

* * *

"I need your help," was the first thing that Stiles said to Kyla when she walked out of her first period class that morning. The hyperactive boy grabbed on to the sleeve of the gear jacket she had worn over a grey tunic stile tank top.

"What exactly do you need my help with?" Kyla asked digging her heels in slightly to slow down their trip through the halls.

Stiles stopped as he felt her slow down and spun around, still gripping her arm. "Just Scot needs to talk to someone and that someone doesn't want to talk to him because Scott may have duck taped him to a chair last night..." he trailed off. "Anyway not important! What is important is that if things go all WWE smack down I'd rather you be there as back up."

Kyla eyed the grip he still had on her arm meaningfully and was immediately released. "Does this have anything to do with the teenaged boy on he roof last night?" She held up a hand to stop Stiles's question. "Your dad called in Derek last night and he could smell that another person had been on the roof. Why does Scott need to talk to this kid?"

"Uh well..." Stiles floundered trying to come up with something.

Kyla groaned. "Tell me he didn't," she begged. "Tell me that in the middle of all of this axe murdering stuff we don't understand Scott was actually smart enough to not turn his first Beta."

Stiles threw up his hands. "It was that or let the kid fall five stories to a horrible cemented death!"

"Fine..." Kyla sighed. "Where is the new werecub going to be?" She followed Stiles as he went through the school entrance and towards the boys locker rooms, blocking off a freshmen from leaving that way as Scott came tearing up behind him.

The guy looked freaked out. Light brown hair stuck up in all directions from a pale face and wide blue eyes shone angrily out at them. He was smaller than Scott but still taller than her. "You guys need to leave me alone!" he hissed at Scott and Stiles. Then he turned on her. "Who the hell are you even?"

"Honestly right now all I am is late for class," Kyla admitted. She turned to Stiles. "Why did I need to be here for this again?"

"Could you just listen for one second?!" Scott pleaded. The boy looked at him expectantly and Scott licked his lips like he was nervous. Kyla nearly banged her head against a locker. Clearly Scott hadn't thought bout what he was actually going to _say _during this little talk. "Liam," he started. "We're brothers now."

Kyla frowned. He sounded like he was quoting someone. His voice even dropped an octave like he was trying to do an imitation. "Oh god," Stiles muttered, rubbing his face. "That's not- okay."

"What?!" Liam exclaimed. 'We just met and you **_bit_**me!"

"Technically," Kyla put in pointing at Scott. "He bit you. I on the other hand might actually have to put on record that I had nothing to do with it."

Scott took a nervous breath and continued along whatever mental script he was ripping off for this conversation. "The bite," he started. "The bite is a gift."

Stiles immediately intervened. "Oh Scott," he muttered. "Just- Just stop." he grabbed his friend by the arm and began to drag him a little distance up the hall. He spun and jabbed a finger at Liam. "And you! We are trying to help you, you little runt!"

Liam's eyebrows shot up. "How? By kidnapping me?"

"The kid has a point," Kyla acknowledged. "When it comes to explaining thing to high school freshmen kidnapping is generally not the right way to go. Buying a large container of ice cream and a box of pizza works better." It worked on newly informed half bloods anyway.

Stiles held up a hand. "Okay just to clarify. Scott kidnapped you not me. I aided and abetted."

"Liam," Scott said, trying to sound calm. "I've gone through this before. Something is happening to you. Something big."

Kyla rolled her eyes. Way to be non-creepy and reassuring. "Nothing is happening to me!" Liam insisted. He ripped the bandage off his arm and displayed a section of smooth, healed skin over the bite mark that Scott must have opened the night before. "Nothing!"

She sighed. "Liam, the fact that your arm healed kind of goes against your point of nothing happening to you," she patted him on the shoulder as the freshman boy glared at her. "On the bright side your not going to die. Plus, your ankle isn't broken anymore. So, bonus." Liam just stormed away glaring angrily. Kyla turned and faced the two boys. "Well that went well."

* * *

"I'm not sharing my basement," Malia stated stubbornly.

"Technically it's my basement," Lydia corrected. "And by the way my mom noticed how you tore it up last time."

Kyla raised her hand as though they were still in class and not groped between two school buses in the parking lot. "No offense to your basement or anything, but I'd rather Malia tear that up than an innocent person. For example, I don't know, me."

"Allright," Stiles defended. "So she's still learning."

"Which she can do in Lydia's basement and not near my face," Kyla said resolutely. She had been hunted by quite a few angry werewolves and she'd had to shoot them all full of silver arrows dipped in wolfs bane. She had a feeling that that procedure might put a slight strain on a growing friendship.

Scott shook his head. "We're going to use the boathouse for Liam," he said. "It's got support beams that we can chain him to."

Kira decided to be the one who posed the technical question of the day. "How do we get him out to the boathouse if he doesn't trust us?"

"I say if it keeps him from killing anybody we just chloroform the little bastard and throw him in the lake," Stiles suggested, playing the whole thing out with hand gestures.

Malia raised her hand. "I'm in."

Stiles made a 'see' gesture. Kyla shook her head. "Wouldn't work," she informed him. "Use ground white ash charcoal mixed with powdered wolfs bane. Werewolf metabolisms are too fast. The chloroform would ware off too quickly to do anything."

"We are not kidnapping him!" Scott interjected.

Kyla shot him a look. From what she had heard, Scott ha already done that. Lydia sighed. "Then let's be smarter. We tell him that there's a party and invite him."

Stiles looked skeptical. "You're going to ask out a freshman? Because are other options are Kira, Malia, or Kyla. And Kyla's kind of blown because I used her for help earlier. Besides, Derek could easily kill that kid which I'm guessing we want to avoid."

Kyla rolled her eyes. She highly doubted that Derek would kill anyone who wasn't a threat to the safety of himself or someone he cared about. But then again, you had to factor in the wolf instincts... "I'm done with teenaged boys," Lydia put in. "But, if we're playing a trick on someone, let's use the trickster."

everyone looked at Kira. The Kitsune caught their meaning and a look of sheer panic spread across her face. "Oh no."

Kyla's phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her jeans pocket. "Well whatever you guys are about to do, I can't be a part of it. The gym is being closed to treat a mold problem and I'm going to go help track down our axe murderer in my free time."

"Have fun!" Stiles called after her.

She merely flipped him off and kept walking.

* * *

"The axe was laced with wolfs bane," Derek told Peter. He held up a lighter in one hand. "I don't know what kind so I'm going to have to burn it out."

Peter eyed the lighter warily but tried to put on a sarcastic front. "I think I can handle a little fire," he mocked.

Images of his uncle's face covered in burns, and of him as the alpha beast covered in the contents of a Molotov cocktail as he tried to murder them all flashed through Derek's head. With a tight lipped, sadistic smile, Derek ignited the blow torch he was holding in his other hand.

"Oh hell," Peter muttered. Derek stepped forward, aiming the blue flames at his uncle's chest. He was going to enjoy this. Peter collapsed to the ground panting after the fatal herb had been burned out of his system. A black scorch mark marred his skin. Derek reached out a hand and pulled him up.

"I don't know exactly what I just walked in on," Kyla's voice said. Derek turned to see that she was standing just inside the door. Peter's shouts must have blocked out her heartbeat and the sound of her approach. She stepped in to the room and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "I think I'll just label it as male bonding and move on." She crossed over to his side and leaned up on her toes to kiss him. "Hey," she greeted after pulling away.

"Hi," Derek murmured back before kissing her again, this time leaning down so she didn't have to reach. Being on the tips of her toes that often could only be damaging in the long run. Her mouth was warm and sweet against his and for a second Derek was able to forget that his uncle was in the room.

"Oh spare me the sickening detritus of this romantic moment," Peter said with a dramatic eye roll. Kyla shifted her wait back slightly, breaking the kiss but keeping her body pressed in to his side. Derek straightened up and glared at his uncle who met his gaze coolly. "He said he was after you."

Seizing on the moment to exercise his abilities at getting under peoples skin, Derek shot back. "How does a guy with no mouth, say _anything._"

Peter held up a black leather glove with a key board and a speaker built in to it. "With this."

"I've never actually run in to anything with no mouth," Kyla mused thoughtfully. "Things with really freaking huge mouths maybe, but not no mouth. A couple of monsters with multiple mouths. That hydra was a bitch and a half. We had to shoot it with a cannon." Derek glanced down at her. At some point the two of them were going to sit down for a good six hours and he was going to get her to tell him what the hell she had spent the first sixteen years of her life doing.

Derek took the glove from Peter's hand. Kyla inspected it closer as he did. Derek saw a small frown form just between her eyebrows. "I think that's military issue," she said. "Some of it looks custom but I think the rest of it is just basic technology."

He nodded. "I'm going to take it over to Stillinski. We're basically working with him on this one since the guy who put an axe in Peter was probably the same guy that killed the family of Wendigos."

"Gymnastics got canceled so they could treat some toxic mold," Kyla informed him. "And Ms. Point is taking some vacation time to actally attempt raising her children. I'm free to help out all night." A thought seemed to cross her mind. "Though I might need to get to Lydia's lake house at some point." She rubbed her temples like she had a headache.

When they were safely in he car and out of Peter's hearing Derek asked, "What's gong on at Lydia's lake house?"

"Malia," she answered. "We're chaining her up in the basement. And it looks like the boat house is going to be occupied to." Derek just looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate. "The second scent you told me about from the roof," she started. "It belongs to a freshman named Liam Dunbar. He was about to fall off the hospital roof and Scott didn't have a hand free so..."

"He bit him," Derek concluded. "And I take it that this kid isn't dead so he must be turning."

She nodded. "Looks like it. If I were you, I'd wait to be called in for a consultation with Scott any day now. He was totally freaking out. Mumbling about how the bite was a gift and that they were brothers now."

Derek groaned and let his head fall back on his seat as he pulled the car to a stop in front of the Sheriff's station. Trying to get Scott to grasp the concept that Derek was the only person help was coming from in the beginning had been a bit like running on a treadmill. You got nowhere fast. He'd had to resort to being a little overly dramatic. None the less, Derek had found more and more that he was actually filling out the big brother role. Even to Lydia and Stiles.

Kyla covered her mouth. "Oh gods!" she exclaimed, her words muffled by her hand. She lowered them again, and Derek could see that she was grinning. "he was totally quoting you wasn't he?" She laughed and the sound reverberated through Derek, making him feel like something warm was filling his chest. When it came to Kyla, he would take being laughed at any day of the week.

* * *

"I still don't get how this guy has no mouth," The Sheriff said, still stuck on that detail as he examined the glove that Kyla recognized as some kind of military issue. "I mean, how can he eat?"

"Peter didn't get a chance to ask," Derek said dryly. He was standing next to the desk with his arms crossed over his rather impressive chest. "He was kind of busy trying to fight him off with a military tomahawk buried in his chest. So..."

Kyla snapped her fingers. "Gluttonis," she said. "Gluttonis demons don't have mouths but they eat by absorbing food through a gel like layer." Both men stared at her but Kyla was unrepentant. She had been trying to think of a type of creature that had no mouth ever since leaving the loft.

"Who even runs around with a military tomahawk?" the Sheriff demanded.

"I did," Deputy Parrish commented as he opened the door in time to hear the end of his bosses min outburst. "When I was diffusing I. in Afghanistan. It was military issue," he walked in to the room and pointed at the equipment still in Stillinski's hand. "So is that."

Kyla raised her hand. "I'm just going to go on the record right now saying I called it." She normally would have kept something like that to herself, but with the full moon out all of her abilities were up to full blast. She felt awesome and she was almost always bubblier on full moons. Unless of course what she happened to be doing on the night of a full moon was fighting for her life. Then she generally felt a little less fantastic.

Derek looked at her a little oddly and then turned to Parrish. "Do you know what it's used for?"

The deputy examined the device and Kyla's senses zoomed in on him. She frowned slightly. Whatever Parrish was, 'human' was not the full answer. It was possible that he didn't know it yet though. The supernatural energy was still low. If it were any other time during the lunar cycle Kyla wouldn't have even picked it up. "This one looks like it's been modified."

Derek glanced at the Sheriff who nodded and shut the doo to his office. "Show us."

* * *

Meanwhile back at the Martin Lake house...

Liam looked like he was trying to wrap his head around everything. "So werewolf," he said pointing at Scott. He tuned to Malia, "Werecoyote." Then Lydia, "Banshee." He whirled on Kira. "Fox?"

"Kitsune," Kira said with a small shrug. "But, fox works."

Liam looked frantically at Stiles. "And what are you supposed to be?!"

"Well for a while I was possessed by an evil spirit," Stiles supplied. Not the most comforting thing he could have said. "It was very evil."

"What are you now?"

Stiles glanced around at the others. "Uh, better?"

Liam refocused all of his attention on Scott. 'An you have another friend who's a werewolf who's dating that redhead from earlier who's a-" he broke off not sure how any of the information the others had given him could help define Kyla. "**_What?!"_**

"Yeah," Scott admitted. "That one is a little bit complicated."

* * *

Parrish had been elected to manage the computer as the Sheriff had about as much technological know how as a rabbit, Derek didn't know what he was looking for, and using technology made Kyla nervous. Broadcasting her location via technology was risky for her. The only reason she could use her computer and her Iphone was that Leo had replaced all of the wires with celestial bronze to dampen the signal frequencies.

"I think I've got an I.P. address," Parrish said.

"And this will let us find the guy right?" the Sheriff checked.

Parish nodded. "Oh yeah definitely," Kyla examined the code over his shoulder. It was printed in reverse with white letters on a black background. Much better for her dyslexia. Not that it would matter very much anyway. Computer code looks a lot like gibberish weather you were dyslexic or not.

The glove on the table twitched with a mechanical binging sound. Kyla and Derek both stiffened. Derek examined the device warily. In their lives, when things started moving without explanation someone was probably about to start screaming. Or something was going to blow up or catch fire.

"What was that?" Derek checked. A quick look at him told Kyla that he was equally ready to run like hell or hit the floor.

"I think it just received a message," Parrish said, tapping away at the computer. Kyla leaned over and watched words apear on the screen. "Does anyone recognize the handle, Benefactor?"

Then a message began to appear on the screen. The words made Kyla's blood run cold. "**Money transferred,**" Derek read. "What does that mean?"

The Sheriff slammed the laptop shut with one hand. "It means that this guy isn't just a murderer." he said.

"He's an assassin," Kyla said. Her voice sounded hollow. She could feel Derek's eyes on her but did her best to keep her face blank. There was a reason that Shaowhunter families had so much accumulated wealth. After all, Shadowhunting wasn't just a birthright. It was a business.

"We'll be back," Derek muttered to the Sheriff. Then Kyla was being tugged in to a quiet back hallway.

"What's going on?" Derek asked stubbornly, arms crossed over his chest. "You look like you're about to be sick and I can hear your heart beating."

Kyla bit her lower lip. Derek's eyes dropped to her mouth before flicking back up to her eyes. There was no way she could control her heartbeat enough to get away with an excuse. With one hand, she turned on her phone and opened it to an app she tried to avoid using whenever possible.

Derek took the phone from her and examined the screen. Displayed there was a number. The kind with nine digits and a dollar sign. "You're showing me your bank balance," Derek said skeptically. "And while that's great to know I don't see how it's important."

"That's not just a bank balance," Kyla said darkly, taking the phone back. "This- this is the net total worth of every demon or monster anyone in my family has killed since the Clave started keeping records. My inheritance?" she laughed once without humor. "It's blood money."

Realization spread across Derek's face. Then he managed to reorganize his features into a carefully neutral expression. "Half of it isn't even inherited anymore," Kyla muttered. "There are a lot of demons and monsters in the kind of wars I've had to fight, and I've been in _four _of them."

She clicked through a few quick options on the app and handed it back to him. She knew what the screen displayed. It was a list of demons, prices, and time of deaths all the way down to the second. "It doesn't even matter if I report it," Kyla said hopelessly. "It just keeps on updating. My guess is that it's been enchanted."

Tears built up behind her eyes and Kyla scrubbed at them with the back of her hand. "I don't want it," she said. Her voice sounded exhausted even to her. "I've _never _wanted any of it. But it's automatic. As soon as I turn eighteen that money lands under my name. I can't even give it to someone else. If someone else tries to use that money nothing happens. Not even if I give them permission. _My _name has to be attached to the transaction."

She shut her eyes tight. "You know what the worst part about all of this is?" she said. "It's the message I get every time I kill another demon. It says **Money Transferred.**" She opened her eyes again and looked up at Derek. "I can't say that the ones I killed didn't deserve it," she said bitterly. "They did. Every one. But I killed hem to survive. Not for a freaking profit!"Her vision was blurry and a knot was forming in her throat.

Then Derek's arms were wrapping around her. Folding her tightly in against her chest. Kyla tried desperately to rein in her crying. Then she was just shaking and trembling. That was the thing about trying not to cry. Eventually the shaking feeling just spreads through your entire body. Kyla had always been told to control her emotions. She tried to apply that then, slowly letting her muscles relax to ease the trembling, and taking deep breaths to clear her throat.

Derek's arms didn't shift around her. All they did was tighten, crushing her forward against him. His head bent down until his head was near her ear. "We don't get to chose," he murmured. "Non of us get to chose what we are."

Kyla took one last breath and pulled away a bit. Derek didn't let go of her completely, moving his hands lightly up and down her sides. "Non of us," he repeated. "Non of us got to choose. Not really. Some of us pretend to give people a choice but their isn't."

His hand came up and lightly pushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes. "What we are we are, and if that changes, well," he shrugged. "If what we are changes then all we can do is try to live with it."

Kyla nodded. In this world you either learned to adapt, and handle your situation, or you decided to curl up and die. "I know."

* * *

Derek and the Sheriff opened the doors to the school. Kyla moved in after them, muttering about chauvinism in the modern day. Derek didn't pay much attention to it.

Full moons always brought out the more animistic instincts in werewolves, one of those included being highly protective of the people you cared about. The fact that Kyla was his girlfriend did nothing to lessen the impulse. Wolves partnered for life. Werewolves weren't generally that strict but still, during full moons Derek was likely to start being one protective son of bitch where Kyla was concerned.

The Sheriff was holding both a flashlight and a gun out in front of him as they moved down the hall. The school was further illuminated by the glowing blue-white witch light in Kyla's left hand. Derek had instead opted to keep his hands free and rely on his own vision.

"You know," he said. "Just because the killer connected to the school's wifi, doesn't mean he's actually here."

The Sheriff nodded. "True. But I've seen enough in this school to keep a gun in my hand when walking in after dark."

"Both excellent points," Kyla said. "But on the off chance that the killer is still in the building how about we just assume that he can hear us talking." She held up her hands. "So, either we shouldn't be talking. Or I can stop trying to tip toe stealthily."

Derek rolled his eyes but accepted the point as valid. All three of them continued down the hall silently. Kyla moved with barely a sound, gracefully placing the weight on the balls of her feet. "Blood," the Sheriff pointed out, shining his flashlight beam on a pool of scarlet liquid spreading below the edge of the door.

Derek saw Kyla glance up at him in confusion. He couldn't help but agree with her. A puddle of blood that large and that close by should be filling his nose with it's smell. Instead, all he could make out was the scent of whatever cleaner had been used by the janitor. "That doesn't make sense."

"Yeah no kidding."

"He doesn't mean the blood it's self," Kyla told the Sheriff. "Though I can see where you're coming from. Unexplained pools of blood are the stuff of nightmares unless you see lots of them while your awake."

"I should have caught the scent before we walked in," Derek explained. This was concerning. First his eyes had lost their blue color. Now his sense of smell. Something was definitely wrong.

Derek moved to open the door and Kyla positioned herself just behind him. One of her charm bracelets morphed and expanded into a bronze hunting knife that was easily the length of her forearm. "Hold on!" The Sheriff hissed, freezing Derek's hand on the door handle. He stepped up next to Derek, gun at the ready. "You two nervous makes me nervous." He shone his flashlight in through the door and Derek moved back, allowing him to open it.

Kyla pushed up on to her tip toes using Derek's shoulder as an anchor so that she could look through the door. "Explosive," she reported. "Looks like a claymore," catching Derek's glance she shrugged. "My friend Leo likes to blow stuff up."

He merely turned, casting his senses out around him until he saw a figure all in black with no mouth lurking in the shadows. "Get down!" he shouted, dropping to the floor with Kyla and dragging Stillinski down with him. Looking back up, he saw the blade of a tomahawk buried in the wall where the Sheriff's head had been the moment before.

As most people will tell you, launching in to a fight isn't something you really think about doing. Mostly you get down to the fight or flight response. When something threatens your life you either run like hell or you try to kill it. Derek's personal flight or flight response was heavily weighted towards fight. If fighting didn't work then he would run like hell.

He saw Kyla spinning, moving in a deadly arc of red hair and bronze weapons. The mute spun on her aiming with his tomahawk. Derek's vision went red. Fury rammed through his veins and he launched himself on the assassin. Snapping his knee caps, crushing in to his spine, and then pinioning his arms behind his back.

Kyla was on her feet. The witchlight had dropped to the floor and she know held a knife in both hands. Each blade aimed at the assassin's throat. The Sheriff was standing as well. His gun was pointing directly at the Mute's head. "You have the right to remain silent!" He hissed furiously.

Derek saw Kyla roll her eyes. The Sheriff continued on with reciting the Miranda Rights. His head snapped up. Barreling down the hallway, fangs exposed and claws outstretched was his uncle. "No!" he shouted. "Peter no!"

He barely had time to get Kyla and the Sheriff out of the way. He watched in horror as Peter refused to listen. He ripped the assassin in o pieces. Blood splattering everywhere. Then everything slowed. Peter raised a hand, claws retracting. There in his palm, was the assassins heart. His uncle dropped the organ with a sickening splatter and straightened up.

Stillinski stood slowly, now pointing his weapon at Peter. His uncle was thoroughly unperturbed using a pocket handkerchief to wipe the gore from his hands before turning and striding away. 'we've learned a better way!" Derek called after him.

"I'm a creature of habit," Peter replied.

"So are the gods!" Kyla shouted. Peter stopped walking. Kyla looked furious. Her normally green eyes were glowing a pale silver yellow. Her skin shone like she had taken a shower in liquid moonlight. "You want to know what that got them? Two wars in two years and near complete annihilation."

Peter chuckled coldly. "Oh Kyla," he said patronizingly. "You of all people should understand, in the wild it's adapt or die." He swung the doors open. His last remark before leaving was, "welcome to the jungle Sweetheart!"

**A/N: I'm so sorry! I had this whole thing written out yesterday and my computer deleted the draft! Twice! I hope everyone didn't completely give up on this. How did I do here? Review to tell me!**

**P.S. Thank you so much to everyone that has left a review! Matilovesbooks, LadyDream3512, Angel10856, you guys are awesome!**

**xoxoxoxoxoxxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxooxxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxox**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Anything that you can recognize belong to people who are not me.**

Kyla listened as Stiles and Scott explained the Dead Pool to her. They described how Lydia had managed to decode a third of the list using Allison's name. They also spilled about how all of the professional assassins were after them now. Her reaction was probably way less severe than they were expecting. "Alright," she accepted, standing up from the empty desk she had been sitting on. "How much am I worth?"

Scott and Stiles looked at each other before Stiles answered. "Twenty-one million."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Seriously?" she took the list from Stiles and saw that her name was indeed listed as being worth twenty-one million dollars. "Sick," she commented. "That's the most anyone has offered for my corpse in like, ever. Most of the stuff that tries to kill me is just hungry."

"You seem, pretty calm about all of this," Scott said slowly.

Kyla considered. Obviously it was concerning that there was someone out in the world willing to shell out what would likely amount to 117 million dollars to kill her and everyone she cared about. Still though, it didn't make a whole lot of a change. "I'm a demigod," she pointed out. "I've been on a Dead Pool since birth. The only difference now is that people I care about who have less experience with random things trying to kill them are on the list to." She looked up at Scott. "Aren't you and Derek supposed to be in the boys locker room terrifying Liam?"

"Crap," Scott moaned. "Almost forgot about that."

Kyla followed Scott as they left the room and headed for the locker rooms. Derek and Scott could both handle themselves, and it sounded like Scott had made major progress the other night in getting Liam to go with the program. Still, having her around couldn't hurt. Probably. Besides, Kyla had been busy over the last day or two with babysitting, school, and gymnastics and hadn't been able to see Derek until today.

When they were in the locker room, Scott grabbed a lacrosse stick from a cubby that Kyla guessed belonged to Liam and ducked behind a corner, indicating for Kyla to do the same. From her hiding place, Kyla saw Liam enter the locker room. 'What the hell!" he muttered. "Where's my stick?!"

A rattling sound echoed repeatedly through the room. Kyla couldn't see Derek from where she was but she could hear him say. "Is this yours?" Then the shrieking protest of breaking metal. Followed by a low snarl belonging to Liam, and the clang of a snapped lacrosse stick dropping to the floor. Scott ducked around the corner with Kyla just behind him as there was the slamming sound of Liam's body being pinned to the lockers by his throat.

"Liam," Scott called. He was trying to shift his beta's focus and force him to calm down. "Liam."

The feral yellow slowly faded out of Liam's eyes. His teeth shrunk and his claws receded, but he continued to struggle as Derek kept two hands locked over his throat. "You're right," Derek mused. "Her is angry." Then he stepped back, and allowed Liam to fall to the floor.

"Are you okay?" Scott checked. Then he picked up Liam's lacrosse stick and showed it to him. "This one is yours."

He tossed it to Liam who glowered. Then his eyes fell on Kyla. "Why do you smell like him?" he demanded, jerking his thumb back at Derek."

Kyla looked between the three werewolves. Derek looked strangely self-satisfied and Scott just seemed a bit uncomfortable. "You do kind of," he admitted to her.

Kyla rolled her eyes and walked over to Derek, gripping the fingers of one of his hands with hers. "He's my boyfriend," she said like she was explaining something very simple to someone not so highly intelligent. "No duh I smell like him." She gestured at Scott. "I bet Kira smells like you."

Scott shifted a bit and did his best to keep his face serious and concerned for Liam's sake. Liam was still glaring at Derek for having pinned him to the wall, but Derek cast his eyes upwards as the bell rang. "Get to class Liam," Scott said firmly.

Derek simply shrugged at the freshman. The message, _do what he freaking tells you _was clearly imprinted in the gesture. Kyla leaned a bit of her weight in to Derek's side. "We'll see you at the scrimmage Liam. Oh, and here," she dug a blue folder out of her backpack. She had snagged it off an abandoned desk the day before. "I found this the other day. I'm pretty sure it's your geometry homework."

With a look like he wasn't sure weather to be grateful or pissed, Liam took the folder and stormed from the room.

Scott looked at Derek hopelessly and his jaw dropped a bit. Kyla glanced up to see what he was looking at and saw that there was a smile curving Derek's mouth. "What are you smiling about?" Scott asked, seeming completely thrown. Kyla was right with him. Derek was normally more relaxed around her then with anyone else and she had only seen him full on smile about eight times. She was guessing that Scott had seen it even less.

"You're going to be good at this," Derek said simply. His hand disengaged from Kyla's and his arm came up to tuck around her waist instead. Compliments to. Jesus. Today must be one where Derek's 'nice' mode had been turned up to full and the stoicism had been reduced.

Scott looked stunned at the opinion. "Are you kidding?" he asked incredulously. "I am totally unprepared. You remember how you said you could teach me a few things? I think right now I could use a full on training manual!"

Kyla smiled a little. The look on Scott's face reminded Kyla of first time parents trying to take care of their kids. "You know," she said thoughtfully. "My friend's step dad said that being an Alpha werewolf with a new Beta was like being a parent or an older sibling," she shrugged. "Not that I would know from experience," she added. "But I'm pretty sure this is probably kind of similar. A learn as you go process."

The Alpha looked a little reassured but not by much. "I'll tell you one thing though," Derek said. The tiny smile was still on his face as he gestured after Liam. "That anger he's got, it's going to make him strong." Kyla remembered hearing that anger it's self was what Derek used as an anchor. If Liam had a lot of it, then this was going to get interesting.

"And dangerous," Scott put in.

"Very," Derek agreed calmly.

Scott said and leaned forwards on his elbows. "This was supposed to be the semester I could focus on school again," he said. It sounded like it was a long forgotten dream that he had been futilely clinging to up until that moment. Derek met Kyla's eyes and moved away from her to sit beside Scott on the bench. Kyla sat on Scott's other side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "But Kate's back," Scott continued. "I have a Beta. There's a debt pool..."

"Scott," Kyla said as gently as she could. "I came to this town straight after a full on war. I had this all planned out as a break from supernatural creatures, but I ended up with you guys anyway. Things have happened and now we just have to prioritize. Possible imminent death by assassin over homework."

Derek nodded. "If all of our names are on that list," he said calmly. "Then that's what we need to focus on. Do you think Lydia can get the rest of the cypher keys?"

"She's working on it," Scott said with a tired nod. The fifteen minute warning bell rang and Scott stood. "I've got first period," he said, glancing at Kyla. "Are you coming?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. I'll be there in time for Coach to yell at us about economic disparity."Scott nodded and left the room and Kyla turned to Derek. She moved across the bench towards him and loosely looped he arms around his neck. "You're being nice today," she commented, running her fingers lightly across the back of his neck.

His hands fell to her hips. One hand running up and down her side sending shivers through Kyla's body. "When am I not nice?"

"Hmm..." Kyla murmured. Pretending to think about it. "When your angry," she started, placing a kiss at the hollow of his jaw. "When you're tired," she moved down to his neck, letting her tongue brush over his collar bone. A small growl started in Derek's chest and his hands flexed against her hips reflexively. Kyla moved up to his cheek. "When someone does something stupid you have to deal with." She brushed her lips up and over his earlobe. "When someone's trying to kill you." With her next sentence her lips brushed slightly against his as she spoke. "When someone's trying to kill me-"

Whatever else she might have been planning to say was swallowed by Derek's mouth. Apparently having had enough of her teasing, Derek crushed Kyla against him. His tongue pushed it's way in to her mouth and battled against hers as Kyla felt one of his hands snake up under her shirt, leaving a trail of sparks in it's wake.

One of Kyla's hands twisted into a handful of his jacket while the other slid down to his chest, tracing over the firm muscle under his shirt. Another growl pushed through Derek's chest, vibrating in to Kyla everywhere they touched. She shivered slightly and her mouth curved up in a slight smile against the onslaught of his lips, teeth, and tongue.

She was starting to feel light headed from lack of oxygen, but as Derek's hands slid under the hem of her shirt and over the skin of her sides and stomach she couldn't particularly make herself care. Derek's mouth detached from hers and he worked his way along her jaw towards her ear. A shudder ran through her entire body as his teeth tugged gently against her earlobe before his tongue soothed over the skin.

Focus on everything else became impossible as Derek's head dropped to her shoulder, his mouth creating a burning trail along her collar bone and to the juncture where her neck met her shoulder. Kyla simply clutched at his chest and shoulders, trying to remember to breath. It was a good thing she was sitting down because if she hadn't been her knees would have buckled already.

Derek tugged her forwards until she was sitting on top of him. Kyla's legs instinctively wrapped around his hips. She ran a hand through Derek's dark hair and pulled his head up, reconnecting his mouth with hers. Dimly she heard the bell ring and barely managed to pull her mouth away. "I-I have," she barely managed to gasp. She took a deep breath with difficulty as Derek's arms refused to loosen around her even marginally "I have econ."

"Skip it," Derek muttered. He had begun to trail his mouth down towards the base of her throat.

"Can't," she replied, making a valiant effort to regain her breathing. She brought his mouth back to hers and gave him a last slow kiss. She pulled back and climbed off of him.

Derek sighed, another growl hummed through his throat. "I never got the point of economics," he muttered.

"I don't either," Kyla said. Her breathing was still not quite on track. She ran her hands through her hair quickly throwing it up in to a pony tail to straighten out some of the chaos their making out had caused. "But I'm getting an A- so far so I'm not complaining. I think it's mostly so Coach Finstock doesn't end up murdering someone." She reached up on to her toes and gave him a quick kiss goodbye.

She dashed out the door just as the final bell began to ring.

* * *

"Economic disparity exists in all forms!" Finstock ranted. "Take sports for example. Some teams have better equipment, better facilities, while Beacon Hills barely has the money to buy the duct tape to keep our equipment together!" The coach was really in fine form that day. He banged the lacrosse stick he was holding on Stiles's desk making him jump. "Stillinski," he examined the gory crime scene photos Stiles had been studying. "If I could grade you on how profoundly you disturb me you'd be an A+ student."

"Thanks coach," Stiles murmured awkwardly.

"Put those pictures away," he ordered, tapping the metal end of the lacrosse stick against Stiles's desk. Stiles nodded, but then grabbed on to the end of the stick. Examining it carefully. "Stillinski! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Finstock protested. Stiles referred back to the pictures and then released the Lacrosse stick. "Don't answer that," Finstock muttered darkly, launching back in to his lecture.

Kyla let her head fall down on to the table for a moment. She was really starting to wish she had just skipped this class and stayed with Derek. That's what sane girls would do if their extremely hot boyfriends asked them to skip class to spend time with them.

"It's a lacrosse player," Stiles whispered to her and Scott.

"The killer is on the time." Scott concluded.

"Awesome," Kyla muttered. "Jock with a dash of commissionable homicidal maniac."

* * *

After classes were over Kyla stood with Scott and Stiles outside the school watching Liam interact with his former school mates. Kyla didn't have super hearing so she couldn't be sure, but she was fairly certain that some threatening was being done on the part of the kids from Devonford Prep. A drop of blood leaked out from Liam's clenched fists.

"Is anyone going to get in there?" Kyla asked, looking at Scott and Stiles who were both wide eyed with horror. She cursed under her breath at their frozen expressions. "Hold that!" she hissed peeling of her jacket and long sleeve shirt and handing them to Stiles, leaving her in a black cami with lace edges, torn jean shorts, and sneakers. Most of her Marks were faded that day but a few were still visible on her hands, and ankles.

Taking a deep breath she bounced cheerily up to the prep students, stopping at Liam's side. "Hi!" she said, injecting bubbly sweetness in to her tone. "It's _so _amazing to meet all of you!" She offered her hand. "I'm Kyla."

The main boy glanced from her, to Liam, and then to her chest. Kyla fought the urge to roll her eyes. _Guys. _They really were that predictable. "Brett," the boy said, shaking her hand. _Werewolf. _Her mind put forward. Kyla ignored it for now.

"Great!"' she beamed, showing all her teeth. "Liam's like, they best freshman on our team. I don't know how you guys managed to lose him." She dropped her hand down to wrap around Liam's unclenching his fist. She reached behind her with her other hand and dragged Scott forward. 'This is Scott," she introduced. "He's our team captain.

"Hey!" Scott greeted. "I need to borrow Liam..." then he backed up again dragging the Beta backwards and Stiles took over.

"Hey prep school students!" Stiles greeted. "Welcome to our tiny, little, public high school!" He stretched out a hand but Brett didn't shake his the way he had shaken Kyla's. "I'm Stiles," stiles introduced, trying to sound upbeat. "That's a firm handshake you got there," his hand dropped. "We're very excited for the scrimmage tonight, but let's just keep it clean okay? No rough stuff out there! Alright see you out on the field."

Then he beat a hasty retreat tailing Scott and Liam. "Nice to meet you," Kyla said sweetly, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she turned and followed them. As she went the smile vanished. It just wasn't natural to be _that _friendly.

* * *

Being in the showers of the boys locker room with three guys. This situation played out very differently when one of them was a werewolf about to lose control and kill everybody. "Okay! Okay!" Liam shouted.

Stiles shut the water off and Liam slumped to the shower floor. Kyla and Scott stepped back. "That car you wrecked," Scott said. 'I thought you said it belonged to your coach."

"He was also my teacher," Liam admitted. "He had benched me for an entire season."

"What did you do?" Kyla asked. A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach indicated that she would not like the answer to this question.

Liam sniffed and wiped water away from his face. He looked soaking wet, miserable, and exhausted. Kyla actually felt a bit bad for him. "I got a couple red cards," he mumbled.

"Just a couple?" Stiles checked skeptically.

Liam looked up at him and then wet back to twisting his fingers without answering. Scott crouched down in front of him. "Look, you've got to be honest with us. What else happened?"

"Nothing!" Liam insisted. "I got kicked out of school," he said. 'They sent me to a physiologist for an evaluation."

Kyla winced. Those kinds of evaluations always sounded rough. The worst ones she got where evaluations done on the progression of her dyslexia. "What did they say?" Scott asked. "What did they call it?"

"Intermittent Explosive Disorder," Liam explained grudgingly.

"I.E.D," Kyla realized. "Well that's just... awesome."

Stiles rolled his eyes. 'Oh yeah great," he said sarcastically. "That's just great," he gave Scott a thumbs up. "You gave superpowers to a walking time bomb."

"Most I. aren't actually time bombs Stiles," Kyla corrected. "More often they're remote or pressure activated. Time bombs are a bit more complicated." She stopped talking when she realized that a weapons lesson was probably not all that helpful at the moment.

"Did they give you anything for it?" Scott asked returning to Liam.

He shook his head once. "Risperdal. It's an anti-psychotic."

"This just gets better," Stiles muttered.

"I don't take it," Liam continued. He looked stubborn and dragged down.

"Obviously!" Stiles said faking an air of casualness.

Kyla let out a deep breath. "Drugs like that have side affects Stiles," she said. "They probably made him too tired to play sports. Besides," she looked at Liam's half hopeful, half hopeless face. "They won't work on him now that he's a werewolf anyway. It's like alcohol. His body would burn it away too fast for it to have an effect. It ties in to the accelerated healing."

"Okay," Scott said, trying to problem solve. "I think you should bail out of the game. Tell coach that your leg is still hurting."

Liam launched to his feet. "No!" he looked at Scott pleading and determined. "I can do this! Especially if you're there."

Scott sighed. Kyla could already see him starting to assume a sort of older brother responsibility over his Beta. He didn't want to let Liam down for anything. Not even something as trivial as a lacrosse game. "Liam it's not just about the game," he tried to explain. "We think that whoever killed Demarco is on our team."

"Whose Demarco?" Liam asked.

"The guy who died the other night," Kyla said.

Stiles cut in to be more specific. "The one who delivered the beer to the party. We think that whoever ordered the keg killed Demarco."

A look spread across Liam's face. "Well I don't know who ordered the keg but," he paused for a moment, "I think I know who paid for it."

* * *

"This is it," Derek said, pulling the triskele medallion from it's box and handing it to Chris Argent. "This is what she was after. We use it to teach young Betas how to control the shift on a full moon." He and the hunter had gone back to take a look at the vault to try and pick up some way to find Kate's trail.

Argent examined the medallion with a heavy expression. "Control never was one of Kate's strong suites."

"You knew she was alive didn't you?" Derek questioned, voicing suspicions he had been developing for a while.

Argent confirmed them by nodding. "I had my suspicions but I wasn't sure. I've been looking ever since you handed me that shot gun shell." he held up the shell in question and Derek remembered handing it to him after Ethan and Aiden had been shot in the woods.

"What are you going to do when you find her?" Derek questioned. He had a point he was getting to, but he was trying to figure out a way to ease in to it a bit.

"There's a place I can take her," Argent said, his eyes focused somewhere in the middle distance as he walked further in to the vault. It looked lke he was examining the shallow craters and scorch marks left by the smoke bombs used to rob the place.

Derek's eyebrows sot up at what the hunter was implying. "Are you saying you have some sort of werewolf jail?"

"Something like that," Argent muttered vaguely, his eyes trialing to the open and now empty safe.

"She won't go quietly," Derek warned. Kate had always been a hellish bitch to deal with. Now she had lost any control over her impulses she might have had and gained claws and teeth. Capturing her was going to be nearly impossible.

A sort of choked hallow laugh came from Argent. "I wouldn't expect her to," he said sadly. Derek had to remind himself that Kate was Argent's sister for better or worse. Just like Peter was Derek's uncle for better or worse. "I'll do what's necessary," he promised.

Derek heaved a deep breath and took a step forward. 'What if I asked you not to?" he bit out around his teeth. His best instincts for survival were begging him to simply let Argent find Kate and lock her up in the deepest darkest hole he could find, but the logical part of him knew that the situation was more complicated than that.

Argent turned and walked towards him slowly, a question written across his face. "She took something from me," Derek explained, willing his eyes to change. It took an effort that shouldn't have been necessary to keep them that way. Argent stared at the glowing yellow in shocked silence and moved another step closer. 'At first," Derek continued. "I just though it was a part of my past. But then I started to lose something else. My sense of smell." he let out another breath. "I'm losing my power." He allowed his eyes to sip back to normal, the sharp details that had been evident with his wolf vision fading back I to obscurity.

"Does Kyla-" Argent started to ask but Derek interrupted him.

"She knows. Or at least, she definitely suspects," Derek shut his eyes and leaned his head back against a shelf. "I'm not asking you not to find Kate," he clarified. "I'm just asking you to let me have a shot at her before you lock her up."

Argent nodded once. "Okay."

Derek nodded his thanks. It was odd, but in another life Derek could almost see adopting Argent as a parental figure. God only knew how much Peter sucked at filling the role. Suddenly their was a pop. Derek tensed and Argent immediately aimed his pistol in the direction of the noise. A rushing sound like the wind pulsed through the room and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

In the next moment a figure appeared sprawled on the floor in front of them. It was the form of a teenaged boy. Derek and Argent exchanged a quick glance, and Derek dropped down next to the boy while Argent kept his gun aimed at the figures head.

The kid looked more injured then harmful to Derek. A deathly pallor was easy to see under olive colored skin. The boy's eyes were shut and his forehead was almost covered by a mess of curly black hair. He didn't look like he could be any older than about fifteen. He wore a black leather army jacket, black sneakers, faded dark jeans that seriously needed to be washed and mended, and a hole filled grateful dead t-shirt.

Suddenly he sucked in a breath and began coughing. He pulled himself up to a sitting position and looked back and forth between Derek and Argent. "Kyla," he anted out between coughs. "Kyla Drawright. Is she here?"

"No," Argent answered. "But we know her. We can take you to her. What's your name kid?"

The boy finally managed to stop coughing and reached in to the deep pocket of his coat. He extracted a beat up Ziploc bag of what looked like lemon bars and gingerly ate half of one. Color seemed to push back in to his face. His breathing slowed to a more manageable rate. "I'm her cousin," the boy said. "My name's Nico DiAngelo."

Derek realized that the boy had to be another demigod. Nico had literally appeared from the shadows, and it would explain the strange aura of death that clung to every inch of him. Besides, Derek could recognize the lemon bar like food as godly ambrosia. "What do you want with her?" he asked.

Nico looked at him with large eyes so dark they almost looked black. If Derek had to guess, he would say that the kid was probably at least part Italian. "I came to warn her," he said. "There's something after her. It should be here-" a hissing growling noise echoed from outside the vault. "Now." Nico said resignedly. In the next second the kid had darted out of the vault.

Argent and Derek followed him. When they found him again he was facing off against a huge, scaly, lizard-like thing. In his hand was a wickedly sharp looking pure black sword. Also, Kyla had managed to find him. "Kyla," he called, running up next to her. "What the hell is that thing."

Kyla didn't take her eyes off the creature. "You know how a little while ago you asked me what the difference was between dragons and drakons and I told you that drakons were worse?"

Derek nodded, "Yeah."

She brandished a glowing silver arrow at the creature. "That's a drakon."

"Sorry I couldn't get here sooner," Nico said, watching the scaly creature warily as it stalked towards them. "I wanted to give you more time, but I had to shadow travel in a hurry and I ended up in the Lion exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. I had to come straight here after that and I ended up in a vault with those two."

Kyla nodded. "Yeah, Derek this is my cousin Nico son of Hades the lord of the dead. Nico this is-" she was cut off by a loud hissing roar and all three o them dropped to the ground. A stream of acid shot above their heads. "On second thought," Kyla said, taking aim. "Let's do introductions after we've killed this thing.

The popping explosion sound of gun shots reached them. Metallic pings followed as the bullets bounced off of the drakons scales. "Di immortals," Nico said fervently. Derek didn't understand I but the intonation implied it was a curse word. "Now the humans gone and made it mad."

"I need a clear shot at the eyes," Kyla said, loading a new arrow. This one had a larger point and a thicker shaft than the ones she typically used. "Can you wo get that for me?"

Nico nodded and charged out in to the clearing. Derek followed, dodging stomping feet, a horned tail, and splashes of acidic spit. Nico was shouting Ancient Greek taunts at the creature as he slashed at whatever he could find with the blade of his sword. Derek dug his claws in to whatever kind of plating he could get purchase on, roaring as loudly as he ever had.

A succession of twangs and thwacks reached them. "Fire in the hole!" Kyla shouted loudly.

Nico looked at him. "Run!"

Derek didn't need telling twice. He launched himself back towards where Kyla stood as the drakon let out another enraged snarl. He dove to the ground and turned to look at the creature. It was jerking and twitching. Then it exploded in a shower of dust and smoke. The smell of sulfur permeated the air so heavily it made Derek want to sneeze.

"Exploding arrow," Kyla explained, brushing dust off her clothing and ruffling some out of Nico's hair. "They were a Christmas present. Thought I'd give it a shot."

"Good plan," Nico complimented.

"Thanks. Annabeth would have done better." Kyla craned her head and called. "Argent you good?!"

The hunter's head appeared through the clouds of yellow dust. "Yeah," he said. The hunter reached up and rubbed monster dust out of his eyes. "Is there always this much dust?"

"The bigger the monster the more dusty gick we have to deal with later," Kyla explained. "At least it didn't leave a carcass. That would have been hard to explain," she looked between the three guys around her. "Okay, Papa Argent, Derek, this is my cousin Nico DiAngelo son of Hades. Nico," she gestured from Derek to Argent. "My boyfriend Derek Hale. He's a werewolf. I'm getting that out of the way now, don't judge. They're the good guys in this town. And Papa Argent. Human supernatural hunter. We all borrow him as a fill in parent since like, no one in our friend group has functioning parents."

Nico nodded. "Okay. As long as neither one of them try to make me go back and see my dad sooner than expected that's fine."

"Are you staying the night in town?" Kyla asked. "You shouldn't shadow travel again after doing two trips and a battle." Nico wavered. "Come on," Kyla wheedled, applying the huge green eyes that always got Derek to do whatever she was asking him to do. "Let me take care of you okay? I haven't gotten to pseudo big sister you in almost a year."

"Okay," Nico relented.

Kyla nodded. "Great," she looked at Derek and Argent. "Both of you are coming for dinner to." The two men looked at each other. Kyla widened her eyes and stepped in to a stream of moonlight. The green flashed a more sparkling silver shade. "Please."

Argent and Derek exchanged another glance. _They were done for._

**A/N: Well there we are. I had requests for more Liam moments, and some more Percy Jackson. I think this chapter accomplished both in fine form. Let me know what you guys thought through reviews! I have three or four people who review consistently and I know that there are more people than that reading this thing! Review for me!xoxoxoxoxooxxxoxoxooxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: If you haven't read this part in the last seventeen chapters then I really don't see why you would start reading it now.**

Their dinner would have to wait for another time. A werewolf having seizures and foaming yellow stuff out of his mouth in the vet's office took priority over meals. Argent had gone to take care of other business, but Nico had stuck around and followed Derek and Kyla to the clinic. Brett was currently seizing on an exam table as they tried to hold him down.

"What the hell is happening to this kid!?" Stiles shouted in a panic.

"He's been poisoned with a rare form of wolfs bane," Deaton explained. He grabbed a scalpel and came over to them. "I'm going to have to make an incision and I need you to hold him still."

"We're trying!" Stiles shouted. 'Derek how bout a little bit of that werewolf strength."

Derek scowled. "I'm not the only one here with werewolf strength!" Kyla looked at him quickly. It was a plausible explanation but not a true one. Derek's abilities were fading, and she was willing to bet that what Kate had done had caused it.

"If you can't hold him still the incision might _**kill**_him!" Deaton stressed.

Nico clung on to Brett's side, pushing down with his entire body weight. "If you don't cut soon he'll be dead anyway," Nico stated. "I can feel his life energy fading."

The others paused for a moment to look at Nico oddly but Kyla just moved on. Nico as a son of Hades could tell when people were close to death. Stiles kept shouting but Kyla looked up out the window. The moon wasn't full and se wasn't standing directly in moonlight but maybe it would be enough anyway. She placed all of her focus on Brett. "**_STOP_**** MOVING!"** she commanded.

Brett's body froze and then spammed. His claws ripped along Derek's arm. Then Peter emerged from the shadows, evidently growing tired with their struggles. He delivered a hard punch, directly across Brett's face, knocking him unconscious. Kyla stared at him. Peter's eyes had flared electric blue, then he blinked and they faded back to their usual icy shade. "I guess I still have a little werewolf strength of my own."

Derek stared at him. "Yeah maybe more than a little," his eyes trailed down to the claw marks on his arm. They didn't look deep. Kyla knew that they typically would have healed over already.

She looped both her arms around one of his and leaned her head against him like she was tired. Slowly, she pushed a tiny bit of healing energy in to Derek's body. It was strange, but the healing power seemed to move sluggishly. Like Derek's body was unsure how to take it in. Then the claw marks healed over and Kyla pulled the energy back. She let Derek take most of her body weight. Now she really was tired.

"I think Brett will be fine but he'll probably be out for a while," she heard Deaton say.

Peter moved calculating eyes from her and Derek to the teenager collapsed on the floor. "Guys can you hear that?" Stiles asked, leaning down. "I think he's saying something."

Kyla moved around the exam table with Derek. Dimly she could hear Brett whispering over and over again. "_The sun, the moon, the truth. The sun, the moon, the truth..._"

Deaton sat back. "Three things cannot long remain hidden," he said, sounding like he was quoting something. "The sun, the moon, and the truth." The vet looked up at Derek. "It's Buddhist."

Kyla let out a deep breath. She knew Greek and Roman mythology because she had to deal with it on a daily basis. She had looked up Japanese mythology because of Kira. Now they were bringing in Buddhists?

Derek looked at Peter meaningfully and the older Hale sighed. "Sitome."

* * *

After a bit more planning time to establish what they would do for the next day, Kyla brought Nico and Derek back to her apartment. "I have to get going," Nico said. "There's stuff I have to get done."

"You've had a long night," Kyla said with concern. "You shouldn't travel again."

Nico shrugged. "I've got to. Besides," he glanced around. "From what I've seen you're a little busy at the moment." He dug in to his jeans pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. There was a note attaché to the top. "Before I go," he handed the box to her. "This is for you." He hesitated a moment. "From Adam. He asked me to get it to you."

Kyla glared down at the little box. Through Nico was the only communication she ever had with her father Adam Drawright. "You know I don't want anything from him," she said coldly, trying to hand the box back.

Nico pushed it back at her. "Then consider it a present from me," he said stubbornly. "Open it on your birthday."

Derek had been watching the whole exchange. "Who's Adam?"

"My Dad," Kyla said slowly. "Adam Drawright. He died when I was six but Nico sees him in the underworld sometimes."

Nico studied Derek for a moment. "I've seen your sister to," he said evenly. "Laura right?" Derek nodded once slowly. That comment was enough to throw anyone off a bit. "She's worried about you," Nico continued. "Happy you've got a pack again though. She was worried you'd be all alone."

"How could you possibly know that?" Derek asked.

Nico shrugged. "I've spent a lot of time in my father's realm talking to spirits. Most of them are just lost and confused but Laura knew exactly what had happened. I talked to her when I was looking for my sister Bianca." Nico's face shut down a little. Kyla knew that talking about Bianca was painful for him. "She said she didn't know where Bianca was, but that she was sure she was worried about me. She said she'd left behind a little brother to."

With that he gave Kyla a small smile and dissolved into a rippling pool of shadows.

Kyla turned back to Derek. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "Nico's a little bit intense sometimes. You could say he's not from around here."

"Because he's the son of Hades?" he guessed.

Kyla shook her head. "Only partly." She sank down on her couch and Derek sat next to her. She took a deep breath before launching in to the explanation. "After World War I Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, made an oath not to have anymore demigod children. Poseidon and Zeus both fell off the wagon and ended up having Percy, Jason, and Thalia. Only Hades actually kept his oath which was a little ironic considering he was the one most against it."

Derek frowned. "If he kept his word then how can Nico be his son?"

A small pounding was staring above her eye and Kyla rubbed at it tiredly. "Hade's is smart," she said. "He thought around it. There's this hotel in Las Vegas called The Lotus. When you're there you don't age, and you don't realize that time is passing you by. Nico and his sister Bianca were there for over seventy years. Then Hades decided to bring them out. My friends and I found them at a military school when Nico was ten. Bianca was twelve... she died about a month after we found them."

"How?" Derek asked. He could tell from the look on her face that there was a story here.

Kyla twisted her fingers together in her lap. "When we went to get the DiAngelos, a manticore tried to stop us. He kidnapped my friend Annabeth. Bianca joined my mother's hunters, and Artemis went to chase after the manticore. She left her lieutenant Zoe Nightshade in charge. Apollo gave us a ride to camp and we tried to settle in but everything was off. Thalia and I had both known Annabeth for five years," a thought crossed her mind. "Well technically Thalia knew her for about six months and spent the rest of the time as a pine tree but that's not really the point."

She took a deep breath and tried to put all of her thoughts in order. "Percy, he's Annabeth's boyfriend now, wanted to tear out of camp to go looking for her but stuck around to help Nico settle in. The camp divides you into cabins based on your godly parent, which is normally great for giving you a sense of family and everything, but their are lots of kids who don't know who their godly parent is. Nico was like that. It's a rough position to be in."

Kyla looked up and met Derek's hazel green eyes. He looked a bit worried but also highly interested in her story. "What happened then?"

"There was another prophecy," Kyla said, shivering slightly at the memory of the oracle mummy coming out in to the woods in her hippy dress and beads. "Six shall go west to the goddess in chains. One shall be lost in the land without rains. The bane of Olympus shows the trail. campers and hunters combined prevail. The titan's curse must one withstand. One shall perish by a parents hand. Angel's blood the chains will break. A hunters final act to make. Bianca died in the desert on our way to free my mom. The titan Atlas had trapped her and Annabeth holding the sky for him in San Francisco."

Derek blinked. A slight frown had etched it's self across his features. "That prophecy listed two deaths, maybe even three. Who were they?"

Kyla shook her head and shrugged. "At the start of the quest it really wasn't clear. We knew the land without rains meant desert but we had to go through part of one anyway. You can't really get around prophecy. But the other death could have been a lot of us. If there are three demigods on the planet who needed to worry about their parent deciding to smite them, they were me, Thalia, and Percy. Thalia was set to turn sixteen within a week and a half of the prophecy being made, Percy was fourteen, and I was Artemis's daughter who should never have existed. But-"

She broke off a moment and swallowed. "It ended up being Zoe my mother's lieutenant. Anyone maiden who worships Artemis and makes the pledge can join her hunt so we had no idea who her father was, but it turned out that Zoe had been one of the hesperides."

Derek nodded once. "They guarded that gold apple tree."

"Right," Kyla confirmed. "Zoe was abandoned by her family because she helped a hero steal a few of the apples. Then the hero abandoned her to, so she joined the hunt. The father of the hesperides... is Atlas. Zoe died fighting her father. Perished by a parents hand as a hunter made their final act."

Sighing, feeling utterly exhausted after her story, Kyla leaned her head against Derek's shoulder. "Nico went dark for a while after hearing the news," she continued. "He summoned a skeleton to attack Percy without meaning to. That's how we figure out who his father was. He couldn't find Bianca in the underworld for a long time. He could only summon her once before she decided to b reborn but he still looked. That's when he would have found your sister Laura. It's when he found my dad."

Derek wrapped an arm around her and adjusted bit on the couch to sit more comfortably. "If hades went through all of this trouble to hide his children, then why bring them out when he did?"

Kyla sighed, her side rising and falling as the breath left her lungs. "Power playing," she said. "When the gods divided up the world Hades got the underworld. That would make anyone kind of bitter, and Hades holds grudges like no body else. It's a fatal flaw he passes on to all of his children. Why he waited has more to do with the big prophecy I told you about. He knew Thalia was close to sixteen but he wanted the prophecy to belong to Nico or Bianca. He wanted one of his children to make a choice that would preserve Olympus. Gain back some glory I guess."

After a moment Derek nodded. He leaned over and placed a light trail of kisses across her jaw to her ear. Kyla shut her eyes, enjoying the sensation "Get some sleep," he whispered. "We all go searching tomorrow."

* * *

"Their Alpha is a women named Sitome," Derek explained to Malia as he got out of his car. His boots made a slight crunch against the pavement. "She's one of the oldest werewolves alive," he continued as Malia joined him a t the front of the car and they began down the hiking trail. "She's learned a lot."

"What does that mean?" Malia asked curiously.

Derek glanced over at her. It was nearly impossible to believe that this girl was his _cousin_. But then she would do something that Derek recognized form a different family member. She was brutally honest like Cora, her body type matched Laura's almost exactly, she spoke through Peter's mouth, and she even had the same nose Derek himself had gotten from his mother. Of course, she had gotten hers from Peter.

He had been hesitant about asking her to come with him to track down Sitome and her pack, but out of all the options she was the least likely to ask personal questions about why he couldn't track them by scent himself. Besides Kyla had talked him in to it by saying, "Malia's your cousin Derek. Your family. That's why you put up with Peter even though he's psychotic. You need to know your family." Derek hadn't been able to argue with her logic, so he had called Malia out of class to help him. Kyla had called in to school sick to try tracking down Braeden to check her progress on finding Kate.

"Sitome was a bitten werewolf," he began. "Learning control wasn't easy for her. She did something a long time ago that changed her." Derek remembered the story of how she had killed the innocent man in the internment camp by burning him alive. "The quote- the mantra, helps them with control." Each pack had it's own saying to help them. The Hales had used Alpha, Beta, Omega. Sitome's pack used the sun, the moon, the truth. From what he could tell Scott and his friends were going wit something along the lines of _Be your own anchor._

Malia paused and her nose twitched. "What is it?" Derek asked her.

"Gun powder," she answered.

Derek glanced around and then followed her gaze to a shell on the ground. He _hated _this lack of senses. His werewolf genes had developed in full when he was thirteen. Losing them after ten years was like walking around wearing a blind fold and ear plugs. He crouched down on one knee and picked up the shell, examining it and rolling it over between his fingers. "Brett's pack is out here," he shook his head slightly. "I don't think they're meeting. They're hiding."

"Then let's go." Malia said pivoting on the spot. "The sooner we explain the dead pool the better." Derek stood and began to walk with her, checking their surroundings constantly. "Do you know how much your worth?" Malia asked conversationally.

He refocused on her. "Hmm?"

"On the Dead Pool," she clarified. "Scott's worth twenty-five million. Kyla's worth twenty-one. Kira's six. I was wondering about you."

Derek regarded her, wondering weather this conversation as heading somewhere. "Twenty," he answered finally. "What about you?"

She shrugged. "Don't know yet. Lydia is still working on the last third of the last. We don't know what Liam's worth yet either." They walked along silently for another few moments before she said, "It must seriously suck for you," she commented. "I'd be pissed off if someone was using my money to get me killed."

_Part of it's yours. _Derek thought privately. It was true. As one of four surviving members of their family, Malia had rights to a quarter of the money just as Derek, Peter, and Cora did. Each of them could claim at least twenty-nine million two hundred-and-fifty thousand dollars. Derek was severely tempted to tell Malia, but that wasn't his job. The best he could do was to treat her as family and pack. Both bonds were strong, when you combined them, not much could make people closer.

However, Derek was someone who believed very whole heartedly in the practice of not borrowing trouble. His life held enough complications without bringing more problems to his doorstep. Deal with the assassins trying to kill them first, family drama second. So he kept his mouth shut, and the two of them searched until darkness fell.

* * *

'I'm sorry," Malia said as she buckled in to the passenger seat nearly four hours of fruitless searching later. "

Derek drew in a frustrated breath before letting it go. "It's nothing to be sorry about," he told her. "If they don't want to be found then we're not going to find them." He saw Malia's confused expression and moved to explain further. "Some werewolves have an ability. A kind of mastery over their bodies where they can actually inhibit their scent." Knowing this, Derek hadn't really been too shocked when they hadn't been able to find Sitome or her pack.

"They can hide from other werewolves?" Malia checked, sounding a bit skeptical and annoyed.

Derek nodded. "From anyone whose trying to find them." He had known that this was a possibility but it was still damn irritating. Trying to help someone who was making helping them difficult was like rubbing sandpaper against bare skin. Painful, irritating, and useless.

"So that's why no body knew about Brett," Malia concluded.

"Same as Demarco," he confirmed.

"Maybe we need to try something different," Malia suggested after a moment. Derek gave her a look saying he was open to suggestions. "We need to think like Stiles," she concluded.

Derek's eyebrows shot up. Skepticism filling him even though he logically knew that Stilllinski had had a few good breakthroughs. 'Like a hyperactive spaz?" he asked.

"Like a detective," she corrected. "If they're really Buddhists, then maybe instead of asking where werewolves hide, we should be asking..."

"Where would Buddhists hide," Derek filled in. It wasn't a solid lead by any means, but it was all they had left to go on. He mentally reviewed everything he had ever learned about Buddhists in the space of a few moments. When he stared ahead he noticed that the car's built in compass was pointing East. One passage in particular triggered in his memory. "When Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree he looked to the east for enlightenment."

A brightness sparked in Malia's eyes. "Is there any kind of Eastern point in Beacon Hills?"

"Yeah," Derek realized. He started the car. "Look Out Point."

* * *

For anybody out there who was wondering, being shot really freaking sucked. Kyla had locked on to Braeden's trail that morning and followed it. This had involved hiking out several hours in to the woods. She had managed to catch up with the mercenary just as Braeden was about to move in and check on leads with Sitome's pack. Kyla had immediately decided to accompany her and maybe warn the other wolves about the Dead Pool.

They had found a large group of the pack just as night fell. The lycanthropes were all dead. Sprawled on the leave covered ground. Blood dripped from their mouths and a few of the bodies were still warm. There had been nothing to do, so Braeden and Kyla had turned to leave. Before they could make it ten feet there were two abrupt load, pops. Then the icy burn of intense pain had radiated through her stomach.

Kyla had collapsed immediately, and curled up in to the smallest form possible. There was a chance she could figure out a way to get the bullet out and heal before she lost too much blood just as long as the shooter thought that she as dead. Braeden had collapsed next to her a moment later. After a good ten minutes Kyla had managed to ask. "Hit?"

"Yeah," Braeden had breathed, her voice tight with pain.

"Got to get help," Kyla had murmured, but whenever she made the slightest movement, shooting pain throbbed through her entire body. She collapsed back to the ground beside Braeden, black spots swimming in and out of her vision. "Can you move?"

Braeden let out a barely suppressed whimper of pain. "No."

Kyla let her head fall back in to the leaves. "Okay," she panted. "Okay. Let's just- let's just invoke the damsel in distress card and wait for help to come to us."

She managed to turn her head enough to see Braeden nod weekly. "Stay conscious," the mercenary advised. "If you can't heel with the bullet in you then just stay conscious. As long as you can."

Kyla nodded back at her. "You to."

She had really tried to. They both had. Night fell, but the bullet wound refused to heal with the bullet still inside her body, and it was buried far t deeply for Kyla to remove it herself. She had considered trying to heal Braeden so that the other girl could go for help, but at that moment she had barely enough residual energy to keep herself from bleeding to death. Healing someone else was out of the question. She could feel herself slipping in and out of consciousness, and each time it became harder and harder to fight her way back.

Dimly she thought she could hear voices. It was like trying to speak underwater. Unless you were Percy she supposed. Faintly she heard Derek's voice. Well, if that didn't sell that she was hallucinating then she wasn't sure what did. Kyla's luck was never good enough that the person she wanted more that anything to find her actually did. "I think they were poisoned," Derek said.

She frowned. That didn't make sense if she was having a delusion. Neither did Malia's voice answering, "That's great. If assassins with guns don't get you, maybe the ones with wolfs bane poison will. Or maybe on with no mouth. Maybe we should all be running from Beacon Hills. Running as fast as we can."

Kyla wanted to speak. She wanted to tell Malia that with things like this it didn't matter how far or how fast you tried to run. Something would always hook you back in. There was no running from who and what you were.

Briefly strength filled her. She _would not _die on a forest floor at age seventeen ten feet away from possible help! She was a Shadowhunter and a Demigod. She had survived demons, monsters, titans, gods, and giants. She _would not _die from a damn gun shot wound. Moving slightly, she managed to break a large stick with her body weight. The crack rang through the clearing. Kyla raised her bloody hand as far as she could. A bloody, signaling wave.

Barely a millisecond later there was the sound of rushing feet. Then warm callused fingers were gripping hers. Her head was lifted on to someone's lap and she felt her breathing ease. One warm hand moved to cover the bleeding wound in her stomach. Only one person ha hands that large, warm, and gentle. "Derek," she breathed.

"Yeah," he replied in a panicked voice. "I'm here,"

His worried, panicked face swam into view above her head. Despite everything, she managed to smile. "Good. I was hoping-" she had to pause to take a deep breath. "I was hoping you'd find me. Started thinking you wouldn't."

A slight spike in pain ran through her as Derek's hand increased pressure on her wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Kyla was grateful for it though. When you couldn't feel pain anymore it was a good sign you were dying. Kyla felt the slight rough texture of Derek's stubble as he kissed her still bloody fingers. "I'm here," he repeated. "I'm here."

Kyla nodded exhaustedly. "Could you be here for me at the hospital?" she suggested. "Braeden to?"

She couldn't see his response but she heard Malia move. In the next moment, she was being picked up. She felt a rush of air as Derek sped through the trees to his car. Kyla kept her eyes open, looking up at the stars. She wasn't afraid. Not anymore at least. Derek was here, and the stars were out.

Everything was going to be okay.

**A/N: DECISON TIME! Okay guys, I really need YOUR IMPUT here. I have a plan for the next chapter that would fix the problem of Derek losing his powers. I need you guys to tell me if I should go ahead and do that, or stay cannon and see what Jeff decides to do when the last two episodes come out. IT'S UP TO YOU! I can do the rest either way.**

**I put in a bit more with Nico, and I have plans to bring in Apollo for the next chapter. Should be fun. I'm talking haikus here people. I liked the Maia Derek interactions so I went with it. Sorry that that meant no Liam. Review for me! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: It would be nice if I owned this wouldn't it? Yeah. Reality sucks that way.**

Melissa McCall could only remember four instances when she had seen Derek Hale in Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital for something that wasn't related to a supernatural problem.

The first time had been almost nine years ago. The report that Derek and his mother had put on file was that Derek had fallen while on a hike in the woods and broken his arms. Melissa had been in charge of doing the pre-report for the doctor. She could remember an almost thirteen year old Derek saying stubbornly that it didn't hurt at all and that the should all just go home. While filling out the report he had been asked how badly the injury hurt on a scale of one to ten and in reply had impatiently asked if saying two would let him leave or just mean that the had to wait longer. His entire forearm had been puffy and purple at the time.

The second time had been almost four years after that just after the Hale fire. Derek hadn't said a single word the entire time as doctors rushed around him and his older sister Laura trying to do something to help Peter. No one had really approached either of them. What did you say to two kids whose entire family had been literally reduced to ashes? Melissa remembered seeing Derek sitting hunched over in a chair. His fingers had been clenching and unclenching round the armrests, jaw locked. When he and Laura had been given the news that Peter would likely never wake up, all that Melissa could remember seeing on his face was a look of absolute fury.

The third and most recent time had been last year. Cora had been sick and unconscious. Peter had apparently come and gone spasmodically to keep an eye on his niece, but Derek had never left. Instead he had stayed holding his younger sister's hand between both of his. That was the first time that Melissa realized that Derek Hale shouldn't look as old as he did. He shouldn't be so concerned and worried. A twenty-two year old guy should be spending time with friends as he finished college, not sitting in a hospital room watching one of his last remaining family members get closer and closer to joining the list of the ones he had already lost.

Then there was that night. The hospital door banged open, and Melissa looked up. What she saw was Derek Hale, looking frantic and soaked to the bone from the rain outside. Cradled tightly against his chest was a small figure. Angling her head, Melissa could see a tangled mess of auburn hair. Kyla.

"She's been shot!" Derek shouted, rain water streaming down his face. "I think she's dying!" Emergency care doctors streamed forward immediately. Saying the words "shot" and "dying" in an emergency room full of doctors was a bit like saying the word 'bomb" in an airport filled with security guards. You got attention fast.

"Gun shot wound to the stomach," one medical intern began rattling off. "Massive blood loss. Bullet still inside. Probable internal damage, and we're definitely going to need to get that gash on her head checked out."

"Moving!" The attendant shouted. With that, several people moved to wheel the gurney holding Kyla towards the O.R.

Derek was left standing behind them. His arms dropped to his sides uselessly. The look on his ace was like he wanted nothing more than to follow her, or scream, or break something. But from what Melissa had seen, if there was one thing Derek Hale exceled at it was keeping his actions in check. It had become her theory that the people who knew that they ran a high risk of keeping control were the ones who were the most careful about restraining themselves.

Melissa walked over to him, placing a hand on the sleeve of his soaked shirt. "Derek," she said in as calm a voice as she could manage. "Are you going to be alright.

Derek jumped slightly, his eyes dropping to her hand and then jumping up again to meet hers. He gave a single sharp nod and then turned and sat down in an emergency room chair. "You'll tell me," he stated. "You'll tell me when she's out." It wasn't a question, and it wasn't a request. It was a statement. Because Derek Hale knew the drill of waiting in the Emergency Room.

Melissa nodded. "It might take some time," she warned. "Can I get you anything? Dry clothes?"

Derek's head dropped back against the wall. He pressed the heals of his hands hard against his eyes for a moment before letting out a deep breath. "Coffee," he said. "Black."

Melissa McCall nodded again and went to get the coffee. No one ever went to sleep when they were waiting for someone they cared about to come out of surgery. It wasn't worth going to sleep and then waking up to find that someone else never would.

* * *

Derek sat in a chair by Kyla's bed holding one of her hands in both of his. The last time he had sat like this with someone I had been Cora in the bed, and he had been taking her pain. He couldn't do that now. He couldn't take Kyla's pain. All he could do was sit with her, and hold her hand until she woke up. The doctors who had pulled the bullet out of her stomach weren't sure when she would wake up. With her healing abilities, it could be a much shorter amount of time than any of them thought.

Braeden was unconscious in a room across the hall. Derek knew that he should probably be waiting for her to wake up as well so that he could ask what she knew, but he just couldn't make himself move. He had been sitting exactly the way he was ever since Melissa McCall had let him in to Kyla's room. His clothes had dried against his body, and his hair was still damp even now from all of the rain.

Kyla's eyes were closed, hiding the clear green that darkened with the moon. her skin was even paler than usual, throwing the purple shadows under her eyes in to sharper prominence. Kyla had told him a few days ago that she hadn't been sleeping well. She had said that it was nightmares. Tubes and monitors were attached to her hands in multiple places. Derek knew that underneath the pale blue hospital gown her side was wrapped in gauze and bandages.

He looked up and stood to the side to make way for Melissa McCall as she entered the room. A needle filled with clear liquid was in her hand. "What is that?" he asked warily. Being cautious of needles filled with drugs just seemed like could policy at the moment, no matter who was handling them. Trust had been an element that had been sharply lacking in his life recently. Being around Kyla, Scott and his pack had helped with that, but suspicion was still his first response to most people.

"Naloxone," Melissa answered shortly. "We need to wake her up."

Derek glared at her. "I thought you said she needed rest," he stated accusatorially.

Melissa stood back after she had injected the drug in to Kyla's I.V. tube. "That was before I found out that the C.D.C just quarantined the high school with Scott and Stiles still inside."

Derek accepted that and turned his eyes back to Kyla. A moment later she shot up in to a sitting position. Her hand automatically went to her midsection as she looked around frantically. "Ow," she finally croaked out. Her voice was rough from disuse but Derek though it was the best sound he had heard all day.

"Kyla," Melissa said. "Look at me. You were shot but your in the hospital now. Your safe. Do you understand?"

Kyla's eyes caught Derek's and he edged as close to the bed as he could. He sat gingerly on the edge of the mattress and took her hand again. Kyla nodded at Melissa, indicating that she understood what had happened. "I hate getting shot," she mumbled. "And hospitals. I always feel like someone's going to try to dissect me or something."

"Okay," Melissa said. "Last night you were in the woods and you found the other pack. Do you know what happened to them."

"I already told you they were poisoned," Derek reminded her. He knew that they needed all the information they could get on what had happened, but he didn't see why they couldn't have let Kyla take a bit more time to heal. Braeden had been in the clearing to, and at least she had been shot straight through.

Kyla shook her head slowly. "I thought that to," she said. "But how people would die from poison is different from ho this looked. I think-" she paused for a moment. "I think they were infected." Derek's eyebrows shot up and then furrowed at her words. Werewolves didn't get sick. How could something have infected them. "It must have been a virus," Kyla continued. "One that was engineered to kill werewolves," she shrugged. "Looks like it worked," she looked straight at Derek. Her green eyes bright. "It killed them _all._"

She winced and hunched over. The E.K.G beeped faster as her heart rate spiked. Derek stood quickly, unsure about what was happening or what to do. "What-" she gasped out through labored breaths. "What did- What did you give me?"

"Naloxone," Melissa said in confusion. Panic was creeping into her voice. "Before that you were under general anesthetic to get the bullet out of your stomach. But you shouldn't be having a reaction to either."

"Say- that- later," Kyla gasped out. She started coughing uncontrollably. "You've gotta- gotta get the I.V out!" she struggled to say.

That was all Derek needed. Instructions to follow. He moved immediately to removed the I.V. wires. "Now hold on!" Melissa said. "In that I.V. are all her pain killers and antibiotics. You can't just-"

A sound ripped through Derek's throat in a slightly more human approximation of a growl. Apparently that ability hadn't faded away yet. As Kyla's breathing got worse and she collapsed back against her pillows, still coughing. Derek pushed past Scott's mother and detached the tubes from Kyla's arm as quickly as he could. "She's less than half human!" Derek said to her angrily. "Human drugs must not work with her system!"

Once the wires we detached, Kyla's breathing eased again. The coughing faded away. Her eyes stayed firmly shut but she took carefully measured breaths. Derek folded her hands back in to his and kissed her palm. Kyla looked at him. "I _really _hate hospitals."

Melissa dashed away as her pager beeped. Derek stayed where he was, tracing his fingers along the veins of her hand. "Why haven't you healed yet?" he asked quietly.

Her eyes fluttered open. "My body's trying," she explained. "But I'm low on energy. I had to use almost everything I had to stop the bleeding." She tipped her head, studying his concerned face. "You're kind of cute when your worried."

He gave her the best glare he could muster under the circumstances. It was hardly convincing. She cracked a small smile and pushed herself in to a sitting position. Derek immediately moved to help her and then sat back when she was propped with a pillow. "Seriously," she said, taking his hand again. "I just need to rest and then I'll be fine. It'd be sooner but the drugs are messing with me."

"You scared me," Derek admitted quietly. "I thought-" he couldn't really describe what he had thought.

Kyla's free hand came up to brush against his cheek, turning his face to look at her. "I'm not going to die on you," she promised. "Not if I have any say in it. I'm with you. For as long as I can be."

Derek couldn't say anything. No words seemed able to make it from his brain to his mouth. So instead of trying he simply nodded, and lent his head in to her hand. He turned his face and pressed light kisses against her palm, watching her eyes flutter shut from the corner of his vision. He moved his head down slightly, and couldn't help but gently brush his tongue over the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist. He lingered thre fro a long moment, feeling her pulse shudder through her against his mouth. Proof that she was really still there. Still alive.

A knock sounded on the door and he lifted his head away, but stayed holding her hand. "Sorry," Melissa said, opening the door. "Derek, I think I've found someone you've been looking for." She stepped aside to reveal Sitome, looking old and regal as ever.

"Derek Hale," she greeted. "It's been a long time."

* * *

"It's a variant of Canine Distemper," Deaton explained to them.

Kyla frowned. "I've heard about that," she said. "A few years ago an outbreak of it killed something like forty percent of Yellowstone's wolf population. A few of the dryads there called my mother to come and help."

"Well what' it going to do to our wolf population!" Melissa McCall said with distress

Kyla simply shrugged from her wheelchair. It had been the general consensus that she should stay in bed until her wounds had healed, but Kyla had fought. Pointing out that A). She would heal on her own weather she was in bed or not. B.) It wasn't like the I.V. was helping, and C.) They needed all of the help that they could get. The compromise had ended up being the wheelchair.

Deaton answered the question. "Well this strand has been altered to infect quite a bit faster."

"You mean it's been weaponized," Derek concluded. He stood between her and Sitome, observing everything with his arms crossed over his chest.

"it infected my whole pack," Sitome said. She was doing a remarkable job of staying calm, but Kyla could hear the shock and bewilderment in her voice. Kyla couldn't blame her. Right now almost everyone in Beacon Hills was functioning at Def Con red.

Deaton frowned. "Everyone except for you," Deaton pointed out to Sitome. "So I guess that's the real question. Where you not infected, or are you somehow immune."

Derek, Kyla and the others are looked at Sitome who looked lost in thought. "Well," Kyla said after a moment. "Missing a viral outbreak during the S. . Looks like I picked a good day to get shot." Derek glared at her. "Too soon?"

He ignored the joke and turned back to Sitome. "If all of your pack was infected," he began. "Then who was doing all the shooting at the entrance to the woods?"

"I'd like to know that too," Kyla added, running a hand gingerly across her stomach where she could feel the flesh trying to heal beneath layers of bandages. "I think I owe them a gun shot wound."

"It must have been another one of the assassins," Sitome guessed. "Personally I'd rather face a gun than a variant of small pox!"

Under slightly different circumstances Kyla might have made a comment about how Sitome hadn't been the one to get shot. But in this case she basically agreed with what the women had said so she kept her mouth shut. Viruses were scary because they were invisible. You couldn't tell if you had contracted it until you were sick. At least with guns you knew for damn sure when someone started shooting at you, and most of the time death if it was going to come it came quickly. This virus had been designed to hurt.

"Yeah well it looks like you'll get plenty of chances," Melissa muttered.

Sitome was looking at Derek with a strange expression on her face. It was the kind of look that Kyla had seen Leo get when he was trying to figure out how a machine went together, or the one Clary got when she was studying something that she was about to draw. Derek seemed to feel te older women's eyes watching him because he turned to her with a slight question on his face. "Sorry," she said. "I had just noticed how much you remind me of Talia."

Derek nodded ad looked down at the floor. Kyla remembered that Talia had been Derek's mother. Not many people were around now who had been friends with her. Maybe that was why Derek had wanted to warn Sitome's pack so quickly. Because she had been his mother's friend. "I used to visit her a lot you know," Sitome continued. "Do you remembered me?"

Derek gave a tiny smile. Kyla guessed that this was one of the few times that he had ever been able to just share a good memory of his mother with someone else who had known her. "I remember the tea," he said. 'You used to always bring that tea that smelled..._terrible_."

A small laugh came from Sitome. "I brought that tea as a gift," she told Derek, smiling fondly at the memory. "Your mother loved it."

Deaton's head snapped up. "What kind of tea?" Everyone looked at him, wondering what exactly he was getting at. "The tea with the smell," he clarified with growing urgency in his voice. 'What kind was it?"

"Reishi," Sitome answered immediately. "Wild purple Reishi. It's very rare."

Something pricked inside Kyla's mind. She remembered a lesson Hodge had given on healing herbs. Reishi had been one of them. Also, the memory of Mrs. Yakumura giving it to her husband to cure him after the Nogitsune attack sprang t her mind. "It's a cure!" she realized. She looked from Deaton to Sitome. "You've been drinking it for years so you didn't get sick. You're inoculated."

Deaton nodded at her, and Sitome shot her a small, considering look. "Okay," Melissa said. "Okay how rare is it? Can we find it?"

"We don't have to," Derek said, shaking his head. "My mother kept some of it," he took a step forward. "It's in our vault."

Kyla nodded and stood up slowly, wincing as pain rippled out through her body. "Guess I'm going to school then." Basically everyone started to protest but Kyla cut them off. "I can use a glamour and I'm the right age to be a student," she pointed out. "I have the best chances of getting in. Besides," she gestured to herself. "After a gun shot wound, massive blood loss, and a bad reaction to drugs, it's not like I can really feel worse." She glanced at Melissa. "Call and tell your ex-husband to tell Stiles," she instructed. "Just incase."

Then she walked over to the wall and began carving runes into it at a rapid speed. The runes for a portal. Gathering herself together, she thought of the Hale vault. Then as the Portal began to glow, she jumped in.

* * *

Kyla practically landed on top of Stiles. The teen barely caught her, cutting off his calls to Scott through the thick stone of the vault's door. The teen was pale and shaking, blood was smeared across his face and sweatshirt. "What happened to you?" she asked. The energy she had used to make the Portal had left her drained ad unsteady.

"I almost got shot!" Stiles exclaimed. "What happened to you? We heard you were in the hospital!"

"Actually got shot," she answered. "I mad a Portal to come help you guys!" She studied the wall in front of them and lifted the _stele _still clutched in her hand. She began to draw an Open rune. 'We've got to get in there!" she said.

As she finished the rune the door sprang open and Scott collapsed forward towards them. Stiles managed to catch him and Kyla let out a deep sigh of relief. After a few more moments of the antidote diffusing through the vault, Kyla deemed that all of her friends were going to live. Malia had read the Dead Pool that listed her last name as Hale and then stormed off. That was going to come back to bite them later, but it wasn't her most pressing concern.

Slowly she managed to stumble through the vault and climb the stairs. She drew a glamour rune on her arm just as she emerged so that she could avoid the police and the C.D.C. As the glamour took effect, Kyla saw her vision going fuzzy. It was too much energy used with not enough left in her system. She barely made it past the officials and was about to collapse.

"Kyla," the Sheriff's voice said just beside her. "How are you here? I thought you were in the hospital."

Kyla looked up at him blearily. Of course he could see her through the glamour. Given the time she had spent with Stiles, Kyla had though that the Stillinski's could probably see through the Mist. The Sheriff being able to see her just confirmed it. "I was," she told him. "I had to come here to help the others." Her knees began to buckle but the Sheriff caught her. He made some kind of soothing noise and Kyla felt a jacket be wrapped around her shoulders. It was a good thing to. Hospital gown were not the warmest clothing ever invented.

"Hey sweetheart," the Sheriff said. "I see Derek's car. I'm going to deal with all of this and let him fuss over you okay?"

Kyla nodded and in the next moment felt herself be lifted off the ground. "Don't ever do that again," Derek voice warned angrily. His face was buried in the crook of her neck so Kyla couldn't see his expression, but she was betting it would be a sight to behold. "It could have killed you!"

"It didn't though," Kyla pointed out. "Let's try looking at the bright side. We're alive, two more assassins are dead." She nuzzled her head further in to his shoulder as she said it. She wrapped an arm around Derek's neck, ignoring the pain the action caused. She could actually feel some of the pent up stress fade out of Derek's muscles as he released a deep breath.

His head lifted and he looked down at her. Kyla blinked up at him tiredly. "Let's go back to the loft," she suggested. "You can hover, and I can call in a favor on someone. Win win."

Derek shook his head slowly but Kyla knew she had won. "And you hate hospitals," he quoted.

She nodded. "Uh huh." He shook his head again but turned away from the paramedics and towards his car. Kyla smiled and settled in. It was time to call in some big guns if she wanted to heal in time to be any help in the fight that was coming. Having the god of healing as an uncle did come with a few advantages.

**A/N: So how was it? I kind of liked writing the bit with Melissa McCall's memories. I felt like it was a good way to show Derek from an outsiders perspective. Plus, the image of a twelve year old Derek being all stubborn was too cute to resist. Let me know what you guys thought. I can always try to tweek stuff or add details to make things more clear. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxxoxoxooxxoxoxoxo**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I own zip that you guys recognize. Kyla is mine though. No stealing her! I will hunt you down with a Berserker. **

"What exactly are you doing?" Derek asked as Kyla rooted through her bag.

Kyla switched over to the outside pocket of the bag and flipped it inside out. A few small objects clattered on to the ground. "I'm looking for..." she scooped up a round gold coin around the size of a quarter. "This!" she cried triumphantly. "And this."

Derek squinted at the object. "Why does that look like one of those little prism things you buy at gift shops to make rainbows?"

"Because it _is _one of those little Prism things you buy at gift shops to make rainbows," Kyla said in the kind of voice that said _duh idiot! _"I need to send an I.M."

"Instant Message?" Derek said with a frown. He had absolutely no clue where she might be going with this. A large part of him was inclined to blame temporary insanity due to blood loss.

Kyla was busy angling the prism, throwing rainbow spots and streaks on to the wall of the loft. Derek was pretty sure that that was the most colorful the walls of his loft had been since they were built. "No _Iris _Message," she corrected him. "There we go!" a full rainbow formed and Kyla gripped the gold coin. "Hey Fleecy do me a solid," she said clearly, then threw the coin in to the colors, vanishing in to thin air. "Show me Apollo god of the sun!" she requested.

The wash of colors began to flicker. Derek looked at her with one eyebrow raised. "Fleecy do me a solid?"

She shrugged. "It used to be 'Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering'. Then Iris got sick of taking everyone's messages and farmed the job out to a Nymph named Fleecy. Kind of like getting a secretary to take your phone calls."

The colors condensed, forming the image of a tall man wearing ray bands and a shirt that was such a bright yellow it was almost blinding. "Hey Kyla dear," the man said. "What's happening darling?"

"Hi Uncle Apollo," Kyla greeted. "Would you mind coming down to Beacon Hills California for a little while to do a healing. Not a big one. Just a little itty bitty one? For my birthday?"

Apollo swept a theatrical bow. "Of course sugar. Anything for my favorite niece's birthday. Who am I healing?"

"Um..." Kyla gestured at her blue hospital gown. "Me. I got shot and bled a lot. I don't have enough energy to heal myself, and there's a lot of stuff going on so I don't really have enough time to wait for it to heal by it's self."

Derek watched the sun god's face go from pleasant and beaming to dark and angry. Whatever Kyla's family was like, it was obvious her uncle cared about her. "I'll be there in twelve seconds," he promised. "Fourteen absolute max."

Kyla turned to face Derek. "You're going to want to shut your eyes for this. Apollo is a little bit... bright," she settled on.

Deciding to take her word for it, Derek slammed his eyelids tight shut. He was having enough challenges dealing with the loss of his werewolf senses. Literal blindness was not something he was interested in experiencing. Approximately eight seconds later there was a bright flash. It was like looking at the sun and then shutting your eyes to watch the colors behind your eyelids.

When he opened his eyes again, the god Apollo was standing in the middle of his loft. "Kyla!" he exclaimed with delight. He wrapped her in a hug. "How are you girly?"

"Ow!" Kyla muttered quietly.

The sun god immediately set her back on her feet. "Sorry! I'll take care of that nasty bullet wound in a minute. Hold on-" He lifted his hands in a _hold everything _motion. "I feel a haiku coming on," Derek shot Kyla a look but she tipped her head sideways. _Just go with it, _her expression said. Derek rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the god in his loft. "I am Apollo. The sun is my chariot. Humans love me."

He beamed at Kyla like he was waiting for applause. "That was great Uncle Apollo," she said awkwardly. "Um, that last line was only four syllables though."

"Worship?" Derek suggested. It seemed like a pretty godly word to use in a haiku.

Apollo tipped his head in consideration. "Humans worship me," he mused. "I like it." Then he turned all the way to face Derek. "Who are you exactly?" Derek opened his mouth to answer but the sun god cut him off. "Hold on, I got this. Derek Hale, werewolf. _Awesome _blood line dude. Props to your family. Oh, too bad about the fire. Ah well," he patted him on he shoulder. "We all fall for people we shouldn't. There was this maiden from Crete-"

Kyla coughed, cutting him off. Apollo turned to her. "Right, bullet wound. Come here sweetheart." He reached out and passed his hand in a long sweep across most of her body. Golden light washed through the room. Kyla's eyes rolled back in her head and Derek moved quickly to catch her before she hit the floor. "She's all healed up now," Apollo said cheerfully. "She just needs some sleep."

Derek nodded and moved Kyla to the bed, watching her curl in to his pillow. "Now you on the other hand," Apollo continued. Derek turned towards him with a very blank face. He had always been able to pull one hell of a poker face. "Something is all off with your vital energy."

"Really?" Derek asked vaguely.

"Hmm..." the god mused. He stared straight at him. "Ah," he said in a tone of realization. "Aged backwards by an Aztec jaguar god. Tough break. Easily fixable!" he clapped his hands together and before Derek could move back he grabbed his forearms.

A surge of energy seemed to rush through his body. A chill that Derek hadn't noticed had crept over him disappeared completely. Hard claws shot out from his nail beds, the burst of pain that Derek hadn't felt for weeks radiated through his jaw as his canine teeth elongated. Derek knew that his eye were flashing as well. Suddenly the sound of cars in the road leaped back in to his range of hearing, and Kyla's scent of moonlight and herbs crept through his nose. He could even feel the bullet graze on his side knit back together.

"There we are!" Apollo said, sounding pleased. He stepped back and gave another hard pat to Derek's shoulder. "An honest days work. Werewolves were always my favorite. Wolves are one of my signature animals you know. I've never understood what my sister has against them. Never did like Tezcatlipoca anyways. All of those Aztec gods were noting but trouble! A big group of attention seeking up starts if you ask me."

Derek was still gasping, watching as his claws shot back into his human nails at his command. Getting the change to fade back the rest of the way was quite a bit more difficult. Taking deep breaths he focused on the calm rhythm of Kyla's heart beet. His jaw realigned to his human visage, and he felt his eyes loose their wolf aspects. "Thanks," he breathed.

"No trouble at all," Apollo said easily. A bright white smile flashed out. "You know Derek, I'm also the god of prophecy. I can see futures, from what I'm getting you've got a big role to play."

Derek's eyebrows shot up. "So you're keeping me healthy so I can do whatever you've got planned?" If there was one thing he hated, it was being manipulated. He had had too much of that from Kate and Peter.

Apollo shrugged casually and walked to Kyla's side, checking her temperature carefully. "You know us gods are accused of being cold hearted. A lot f our kids think we don't care about them. But the truth is they're safer the farther we stay from them."

"Kyla said that she babysits for two of your kids," Derek commented. "Angelina and Mathew Point. She said Mathew's second birthday is coming up."

Apollo nodded. "I might go by there later and check on them. I can't tell them who I am yet. They're too young. But I do watch them when I can." He brushed back some of Kyla's hair and then stood. "Kyla's the only niece I have," he said seriously. "I love that girl like my own kids." He regarded Derek seriously. "You take care of her you got me?"

Derek nodded once and Apollo grinned. "Excellent. Shut your eyes so you don't burn to death when I leave and assume my true godly form."

"What-" Apollo's entire body began to glow and Derek slammed his eyes shut. Whatever a 'true godly form' was, if it could burn him to death he wasn't interested in seeing it. There was a flash of blinding light, and when Derek opened his eyes the sun god was gone. Kyla was sleeping soundly on the bed, her heart drumming out a comforting rhythm.

Derek pulled a blanket over Kyla and got changed in to sweatpants and peeled off his jacket and he lay on his back on the couch to sleep. He lifted his mirrored sunglasses from his pocket and held them so that he could see his reflection in the lenses. After a brief moment of concentration his eyes flashed. Blue.

Ice blue.

* * *

When Kyla woke up she was cold. She was on Derek's bed with a blanket over her, but it was still freezing in the loft. Derek must have gotten her settled in after Apollo's healing. She remembered that werewolves didn't get cold that often. Another perk of wolf powers. Speaking of wolf powers, something had definitely gone wrong with Derek's.

She rolled out of bed and padded across the loft to the couch where Derek lay asleep. Reaching forward slowly, she gradually pushed Derek's twined hands up from his stomach. There was a small red stain on the white fabric of his shirt. Pushing it up, she held her breath, not quite sure what she was hoping for. The skin of his chest was bronze and smooth. No trace of a wound in sight.

Then her hands were grabbed as Derek moved reflexively. Kyla looked up at him. "What are you doing?" he asked sleepily.

"I woke up cold," Kyla said casually. "I came over here and there was blood on your shirt. I wanted to check..."

Derek sighed and sat up, looking at her worried face. "You don't have to worry about me," he said. "You saw yourself. I'm fine."

Kyla gave him a look. "I don't need werewolf hearing to know you aren't telling me something," she said seriously. "I can't help if I don't know what's going on. So, fess up," she watched him expectantly.

"Don't worry about it," Derek reassured. "Whatever Kate did to me, it was still happening. Strength, speed, my eyes, it was all fading. But then your uncle showed up."

Kyla leaned closer, examining him carefully. Carefully, she reached out with her extra senses and slowly found the energy signature that belonged to Derek. The strange coldness that had tinged him was now a bright, burning spark. "He healed you," she said slowly.

Derek nodded. "Yeah. He said something about not liking Aztec gods, and wolves being his patron animal."

"Yeah," Kyla said. "One of a few..." she trailed off.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Kyla shook her head. "It's just... the gods aren't known for doing good things without ulterior motives. There's this saying _Den ypárchei tétoio prágma ópo̱s éna do̱reán gév̱ma. _It's the Greek for there's no such thing as a free lunch. The gods practically invented quid pro quo. Did he say anything else?"

"Just to take care of you," Derek said, reaching out one hand to push back her hair. "I might as well start now," he said swinging his legs down to the floor. "Come on," he said. "Shirt off."

She raised an eyebrow. That was a little more straight forward than she had been expecting. "Excuse me?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "You got shot. You checked when you thought I was hurt now I'm checking you so," he gestured. "Shirt off."

Slowly, keeping her eyes locked on his Kyla pulled up the hospital gown she was still wearing and tugged it over her head. She noted Derek's eyes tracing over her skin. His gaze was s intense that Kyla could almost feel it as a physical touch. Apart from the large pad of gauze taped across her stomach, all she was wearing was underwear. Warmth flooded her cheeks but she held his gaze. This had been his idea. Though apparently not one he had though all the way.

Swallowing, Derek moved forward. The warmth of his fingers against her stomach sent a warm jolt through her skin. Carefully, he peeled the gauze and tape off of her skin. There was a blood stain on the white material, but the skin of her stomach was whole and healed. There wasn't even a scar to be seen. "There you go," Kyla said. "You're back in all your werewolf strength and I'm minus a bullet hole. Not a bad night."

She kept waiting for Derek to move his hands away, but instead they began tracing over the thin scars of old wounds. "That's a lot of scars," he commented.

"Yeah," Kyla murmured, looking down at the contrast his darker hand made on her pale skin."Shadowhunter remember? Scars are... more average than par. For Nephilim, you can read an entire life story in scars." She lifted her head, his eyes were still down, tracing the old marks and spreading tingling trails against along her skin. "I've got even fewer than most," Kyla mused. It was true. In her case the scars of old marks vanished more completely than they did for others. "With my healing, the Marks heal over more fully than they usually do."

Derek's eyes flashed to his wolf eyes. They shone the same bright blue she had first seen on him. Siberian Husky blue. Then Kyla realized what he was doing. With the changed vision he could see every scar that was normally invisible. Every Mark she had ever applied to her body and used until it faded away was laid bare for him to see.

Kyla took a half step forward. Derek looked up at her and she slid her arms around his neck. She tipped her head slightly to the side. "Blue," she commented. "That's always been my favorite color anyway. Do you remember that Shadowhunter nursery rhyme I told you about right after Allison and Aiden died?"

"_Blue banners when our lost return_," Derek quoted.

Kyla felt her face break in to a smile. "That was one of my favorite lines of the whole thing," she told him. "I don't know why. It just always was." Derek made a hum sound and she tipped her head. "So your werewolf strength is all back? You can go right back in to being a total badass?"

"I'm not sure I'd put it exactly like that," Derek commented. "But yes. I could win in a fight." A slight teasing look came over his face. "Maybe even one against you."

"Oh yeah?" Kyla replied with a level of sass Percy would have been proud of. She stepped out of Derek's arms and pulled out one of his old t-shirts, throwing it on over her underwear. "Care to test that theory?"

Derek raised his eyebrows and sighed skeptically. "Really?" she nodded. "Fine," he sighed, moving to stand across from her.

Kyla grinned. Her entire life had been spent training to fight things bigger and stronger than her. Weather she was against a Titan or a werewolf, the same rules applied. She waited, and then at the moment Derek swung at her she ducked under his arm laughing. He spun and looked at her meaningfully. "What?" Kyla asked, still amused. "Your twice my size, that means less flexible. If I can move faster than you I can beat you."

"Fascinating insight in to your mind," Derek commented.

He launched a hit towards her head which she ducked and then used his other arm to fasten around her waist. In a move that she really could have put in to one of her floor routines, Kyla spun out of his grip, using his arm over her shoulder as leverage to flip his significantly more muscled body over her shoulder. Unfortunately for her, Derek managed to pull her down with him.

She rolled away but Derek rolled with her, pinning her to the floor of the loft. One of his hands gripped bot of her wrists and pressed the claws of his other hand gently against her throat. "I win," he declared.

Kyla almost agreed with him, but then she noticed something. Derek's head was tipped up and slightly to the side as he looked down at her. Kyla had spent enough time with the timber wolves her mother kept to recognize animal instincts and behaviors. "Well if you win," Kyla started slowly. "Then how come you're the one whose throat's exposed?"

She leaned up and placed a light kiss against the skin of his throat, just at his jugular. A growl pushed through his chest and his hands relaxed momentarily. Kyla took advantage of the opening and flipped their positions so that she was perched on top of him. With a quick twist of her charm bracelet, the charm morphed in to a hunting dagger. She brought the weapon down so that it's edge was just against his skin. "I think I win."

She stood and Derek climbed to his feet after her. He stepped closer, backing her up in to the loft table. He reached out and took the knife from her hand. "Isn't using weapons kind of cheating?"

"You have claws," Kyla pointed out. "And teeth, and supernatural strength. I think I'm entitled to a knife. Besides," she shrugged. "I won. When you're up against something that has a natural advantage, you have to think smart. And thinking smart means you have to forget the idea of a fair fight."

"Really?" Derek asked skeptically.

"Uh huh," she said with a small smile.

"Okay," he looked like he was thinking something over. "So why do you use a knife?"

She shrugged. "A few reasons. They're easy to hide for one thing. If you're fighting an opponent who has armor knives are better at finding he chinks. Besides they're versatile. If you have good enough aim you can throw them and my aim's perfect."

"How does throwing them work?" he asked.

Kyla gave him a look. "If you move out from right in front of me I can show you." Derek's werewolf healing might have been back, but that didn't mean stabbing her boyfriend with a celestial bronze hunting knife was a good plan. Derek stepped to the side with a small smirk. His hand trailed lightly across her midsection as he pulled away, bunching the light green material of her (well, technically his) shirt.

"Alright," she said. "You grip the handle in whichever is your dominant hand. You want the hilt across your palm." Derek's warm fingers wrapped around hers and she felt him slide in to the space between her and the table. Kyla took a deep breath but kept going. "The blade goes behind your ear," she continued. "Then you launch the blade forward. Most of the time that involves pushing your body weight forward as well."

Derek's fingers released her hand and traced lightly down her side, pressing firmly against her hip. His other hand slid slightly under the hem of the shirt, tracing slightly against bare skin. "Go on," he whispered. His warm breath fanned across her ear and the nape of her neck.

Kyla shut her eyes momentarily and took a deep breath. Then her eyes snapped open and she flipped the knife over her shoulder in one quick motion. The blade flipped end over end until the point stuck quivering in the wall. She lowered her arm again.

"Okay," Derek mused. "But now you don't have a weapon.

She turned to face him, activating her other bracelet. Her second hunting knife formed in her hand. "That's why you always keep a spare."

Both of his hands snuck up under the hem of the shirt. The heat from the pads of his hands spread up through her body. "What if you got distracted?"

"Wouldn't happen," Kyla said simply, trying to ignore the distraction of his hands on her body. "If I can still focus enough to aim the right way in the middle of a battle, I think I can concentrate around you."

"Yeah?" he asked raising an eyebrow. "Try again."

Kyla shook her head and turned back around, switching the knife over to her right hand. She was pretty close to ambidextrous, but her right hand was just slightly steadier. Lifting her hand back behind her head, she froze, her breath caught in her throat. One of Derek's hands was tracing up and down her side along he ribs, the other was splayed across her stomach. Taking a breath, she refocused on the point she was aiming at. Then she felt Derek's lips trail along the shell of her ear. She sighed and gave up as something warm and wet brushed against her ear lobe as he sucked it in to his mouth.

She turned and faced him. "Cheater."

His hand repositioned around her hips. "'When you have to face something with a natural advantage you have to think smart,'" he quoted. "'And thinking smart means you have to forget the idea of a fair fight."

Kyla rolled her eyes. "I hate you."

Derek's head dipped down, his mouth pressing lightly against hers. "No you don't." His lips trailed sideways down her neck and fastened on her pulse.

Kyla's eyes slipped shut of their own accord. She could barely make herself nod. "So do."

His mouth slid up to her ear. "No you don't," he whispered against her skin.

She sighed, "No I don't," she admitted. Derek pulled back and looked at her. Then his mouth was on hers, swallowing her breath. She felt his tongue slid out over her bottom lip and she opened her mouth to let him in. After a long moment he pulled back, when he met her eyes they were shinning electric blue. "Actually," she murmured, her arms moving over his shoulders and around her neck. "I think I might love you."

One of Derek's hands moved slowly up her side on the outside of her shirt. The pads of his fingers traced over her shoulder and across her face. His eyes were serious and filled with an motion se couldn't identify straight away. "I love you to," he said lowly.

A feeling of the most incredible kind of warmth filled Kyla's entire body. Unable to speak anymore, she reached on to the tips of her toes and fastened her mouth to his. Their lips moved together in tandem. Kyla felt his tongue slip in to her mouth, rubbing against hers. His hands traced down her sides and in the next moment she was being lifted off the ground.

Derek's arms locked under and around her, supporting her entire body weight. Kyla's legs wrapped around his hips reflexively, her arms twining around him. She felt the table underneath her and knew that Derek had set her down on the metal table but their bodies hadn't separated in the slightest. Kyla's fingers found their way under his shirt, dancing across the smooth muscle, relishing the feeling.

She pushed the shirt up, only concentrating on having better access to the firm muscles and tanned skin that made up his chest. Their mouths broke apart for the single moment it took for Derek's shirt to be pulled off and thrown to the side. That single moment of separation as long enough for Kyla to miss feeling his lips against hers.

His hands toyed at the hem of her shirt, sliding up and under it slightly before sliding back down to trace the contours of her legs as they wrapped around his body. Then Derek's hands were tugging the shirt up and over her head.

This time they paused for a brief moment. Derek's head nuzzled in to the crook of her neck, his breath fanning out across her skin. His lips and tongue worked feverishly along her collar bone. It was all Kyla could do to remember to breath.

One hand traced up her spine, reaching the clasp of her bra. Then he paused, Kyla tugged slightly on his hair, bringing his mouth back to hers for another kiss. Then Derek pulled away slightly and pressed his forehead against hers.

His eyes were shut tightly. "It's okay," she murmured, still trying desperately to catch her breath. She pressed another kiss against his mouth and this time when she pulled back and opened her eyes Derek's eyes had opened to.

They were shining such an electric blue that it was incredible. Kyla knew that the color was supposed to be feral. A primitive kind of warning. The color was meant to be a sign of having taken an innocent life, but all Kyla could associate with it was the expression that those eyes held for her. Desire, caution, and love.

"It's okay," she repeated, tracing her fingers over his face. She gave him one long, slow kiss. "I'm not stopping you," she murmured. "I trust you." Derek's eyes fluttered shut again and his mouth pressed back against hers, his lips catching and pulling against hers. His fingers moved back across her skin, tracing over the scars, and marks. Then his hands moved back over the straps of her underwear and his mouth slowed against hers.

"I love you," Kyla murmured. "_I trust you."_ her mouth brushing against hers as she spoke.

Derek stared at her again. The expression on his face was one that sent sharp bursts of heat and electricity through every nerve in her body. "I love you to." Then their lips were attached again. Their bodies folded together perfectly along every inch. Every movement sent jolts of fire through her. Derek's body was warm and heavy against hers.

Kyla felt Derek lift her off the edge of the table and in the next moment she felt the mattress at her back. She was starting to realize part of what Derek's expression had meant. If she wasn't going to stop him, then he wasn't going to stop him either.

So they didn't stop.

**A/N: So how was that? I was SO nervous writing this chapter. You guys need to give me feedback about what I should change if you think I should change things. How was Apollo? I did actually make sure that the haiku was a real haiku. I healed Derek! If Jeff Davis decides to do something major to do with him (gasp) dying. I'll figure out a different way to try to write it. I know not much plot happened here, but if you watch the episode basically all Derek does is hang around the loft with Braeden. Obviously I'm not writing him with Braeden so I just altered things to fit Kyla better. REVIEW! I need them badly for this chapter!xoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxooxooxoooxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxooxxxooxoxxo**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I have absolutely no rights to anything here apart from the awesomeness that is Kyla.**

Derek examined the palms of Parrish's hands and then flipped them over to look at the nails. Kyla simply stood studying the deputy. A feeling of some kind of supernatural energy poured off of him, but her mind wasn't providing his species. "You said he covered you in gasoline?" Derek double checked.

"It's the hair and the nails isn't it?" Lydia asked. "The parts of the body that are essentially dead."

"They should be gone," Derek confirmed. He had done enough research about fires and burn victims while Peter was in the hospital after his family had been burned alive to know that hair and nails burned first.

Kyla rolled her eyes a bit. "Uh guys, he was soaked in gasoline and then set on fire. I'm pretty sure all of him should be gone. Or at the very least charred."

"I'm not charred," Parrish stated.

Scott, who had been shifting around somewhat nervously until then spoke. "You wouldn't be if your like us."

"Like you?" Parrish asked in complete and utter confusion.

Kyla nearly rolled her eyes again. Unless werewolves had suddenly mutated to become extra fireproof she doubted that Parrish was one. Besides, her abilities recognized werewolves. Whatever Parrish was her abilities couldn't get a fix on it. Derek was apparently sharing her doubts. "I don't think he's like us."

"Then what is he?" Lydia asked, as usual pegging the million dollar question. Or in Parrish's case, five million dollar question.

Derek shook his head. "I'm sorry but I have no idea."

"But you knew about Jackson and Kira!" Scott protested.

Derek shot him a look. "This is a little out of my experience. There might be something in the bestiary did you try Argent?"

Scott shook his head and gave a small shrug. "I don't know where he is."

"Well," Kyla said. "Whatever he is my senses can't pick it up. I know he's something supernatural but normally my brain gives supernatural creatures a kind of label even if I've never heard of them. It's possible he's still transitioning in to something. Like a dormant gene that's only just being activated."

"Wait hold on!" Parrish cut in holding up his hands. "What's a bestiary. Actually no! That's not even my first question. Just tell me one thing, are all of you like Lydia?" That question got him raised eyebrows and questioning glances from all quarters as they all glanced at each other. "Are you all psychic?" he clarified.

Derek's head gave a half jerk towards a slightly overwhelmed looking Lydia. "Psychic?" Kyla was right with him. Out of all of the supernatural creatures she had never met, she had never encountered a straight up psychic.

"Not exactly," Scott said awkwardly.

"Okay..." Parrish trailed off, trying to wrap his mind around everything. "Then what are you?"

Kyla gave Derek a tiny nod and he exchanged a glance with Scott. The two wolves seemed to share a silent agreement and then the two of them shut their eyes. When they opened them again and faced Parrish, both their eyes were glowing. Burning fiery red, and cold steely blue.

The explanation took a little while to get through. Werewolves, Banshees, Kitsunes, Kanimas, demigods, and Nephilim all had to be covered. When they were done, Parrish was sitting quietly on Derek's beaten up blue couch looking thoughtful and confused. Lydia was wandering around twisting her fingers anxiously in the hem of her skirt. Kyla stood leaning into Derek's side with one of his arms wrapped around her waist. She had changed into a pair of jeans and one of Derek's t-shirts. Finding a shirt of hers that wasn't either for gymnastics or hunting had proved nearly impossible, and his shirts fit her like dresses anyways.

"So what's a Kanima?" Parrish asked in confusion.

Kyla just sighed. 'We can get back to that later," she told the young deputy. "It's not really our biggest problem at he moment. From what I've heard the only one from around here turned in to a werewolf and then moved to London."

Scott sat beside Parish on the couch. "For now just understand that everyone like us, everyone with some kind of supernatural ability is on the Dead Pool." His tone was urgent and earnest, begging to be believed quickly.

Parrish sighed in exasperation. "But _I _don't even know what I am."

"I'm pretty sure they don't care," Derek told him bluntly. Well, the truth sucks don't it? Too bad.

"Besides," Kyla chipped in, raising her hand. "Because of all the weird genes I've got I don't really know what I am either. So far that hasn't stopped anyone from wanting me dead."

"How many professional assassins are we talking about?" Parrish asked worriedly.

Lydia shrugged as she approached. "We're starting to lose count."

"I though we were at five last time," Kyla mused. "Did that change while I was shot?"

They all ignored her question as Scott frowned and asked. "But is it still just professional assassins though?"

There was a moment of tense silence. Kyla felt her gut twist. If they couldn't be sure that the people trying to kill them were just professionals then anyone who wanted to could take a shot at them. "I don't think Haig's ever tried anything like this before," Parrish provided. "I think he was taking a chance."

"That means anyone with the Dead Pool could take a chance," Derek concluded.

"Anyone can be a killer under the right circumstances," Kyla said darkly. "Unfortunately, for most people the offer of money is the right circumstance."

Parrish's frown depend. "Well if Haig had it then who else does?" he asked, looking between the four of them for some kind of reassurance. "How easy is it to get this thing now?"

After a long moment of silence Kyla spoke. "Easier than we want it to be."

* * *

After Parrish had accepted that, they all settled in to listen to Lydia's story about her grandmother. Derek leaned against a support pillar, and Scott took the one opposite from him. Kyla peeled away from his side and settled sitting on the bed next to Lydia.

Derek found himself having to thoroughly reassign the part of his brain that stored the memories of the last time Kyla had been on is bed. Those memories needed to not be available right now. A slight shift in the air caused Kyla's scent to drift towards him and he had to shut his eyes for a moment to keep them from glowing. _Oh hell..._

"Meredith was only at my grandmother's lake house once," Lydia began. Derek focused his mind on her words, listening intently. "But I think once was enough."

"How'd your grandmother know her?" he asked. Whatever went on in the Martin family, it was apparently connected to all of the professional assassins who wanted to kill him and everyone he cared about. That was enough for him to want every single detail possible.

Lydia shook her head. "She didn't. She found her." Derek's eyebrows shot up. Was this some other kind of Banshee power? Extreme location abilities? Then Lydia continued. "Through another women named Maddy. The women she loved." Lydia dug a small photo out of the pocket of her skirt and passed it to Kyla first. Kyla examined the photo and then got up and handed it to him. The photo showed two women in about their late fifties with their arms around each other.

Lydia continued on. "I never met her, but I saw her name everywhere. She used to be part of a yacht racing team. There were plaques and trophies all over the lake house of all the regattas she'd won."

"How did she die?" Parrish asked from where he was standing. His one bordered on professional interest. He was a detective after all. Derek wasn't exactly sure how he felt about the young deputy. He remembered Parrish being nice to his seventeen year old self, but otherwise he was just a semi-pleasant cop. However, if past situations were any indicator, he was going to have to get used to Parrish's presence.

"How's not the story," Lydia told Parrish. "It's what happened right before. My grandmother Loraine used to work in San Francisco for IBM." She turned and faced them. "She was there on a weekend, catching up and work. She started hearing his sound, like rain. But when she looked out the windows, all she saw was blue sky."

Kyla moved closer to Lydia and placed a hand on her shoulder to provide a little support. "But she kept on hearing the rain didn't she?"

Lydia nodded. "And it just kept getting louder. Rain," she turned t face them all again instead of looking out the window's of Derek's loft. "Thunder, cracking. Like gunshots in her head. So loud... she finally just screamed."

"Like a banshee," Derek concluded. Kyla moved over to him and Derek uncrossed his arms to tuck her body against his chest. He wrapped a hand around both of hers, warming the cold digits. Maybe when all of this stuff with the Dead Pool was over he would take a look at the air conditioning. Kyla had said the night before that she had woken up because she was cold... Not what he was supposed to be thinking about at the moment.

"She called Maddy," Lydia continued. "Maddy was planning to take one of the boats out on the lake," the banshee was pacing now. "She said that the sun was shining there to so Loraine didn't say anything."

Realization broke across Parrish's face. Whatever the deputy was he wasn't an idiot. "There was an accident."

Lydia nodded. "It took them four days to find Maddie's body," Derek winced internally. Half the bodies of his family had been burned so thoroughly that they had never been recovered. That was why the investigators had assumed that Cora had died with the others.

"Then it took decades to figure out how Loraine knew," Lydia continued. "She started with parapsychologists. Like the PhD in their name made it more scientific. They built the study in the lake house according to ever pseudoscientific theory they could find. But non of it worked. Then she started getting into an even more extreme occult. Things like mediums and psychics all o them were failures. She even tried to contact some Warlock from Brooklyn who never got back to her."

"Wait," Kyla interrupted, shifting slightly against Derek's chest. "Was this warlock by any chance named Magnus Bane?" Lydia nodded mutely and Kyla sighed. "Unbelievable," she muttered. Derek peered down at the top of her head. Kyla seemed to realize that everyone was waiting for her to explain. "Magnus Bane is an actual warlock," she explained. "The son of the demon Asmodeus and a human women. He's dating my friend Alec, and he's the high warlock of Brooklyn."

Kyla nodded to Lydia to continue. "They found Meredith at Eichen House. This fragile girl who didn't understand the things she heard. hey brought her to the study. And they almost killed her," Lydia stopped for a moment before saying. "She was hospitalized for over a year. She, never really recovered. My grandmother drove her insane, and then I drove her to suicide. All she ever wanted to do was help."

Lydia unfolded a piece of unlined white paper with a square of the same indecipherable mess written on it. "My grandmother created the code for the Dead Pool," she said heavily. "We think she might be the one who put the names out there in the first place. She left me this message in the same code."

"But she didn't leave a cypher key did she?" Scott asked, trying not to sound hopeful.

Lydia shook her head

* * *

The others left, but Scott stayed behind. He pulled the hunting knife out of the wall Where Kyla had thrown it the night before. "Since when do you use knives?" he asked Derek.

"That's mine," Kyla told him. She stepped forward and took the knife handle, pressing the gem on top of the hilt until the blade morphed back into a delicate charm bracelet. "I was trying to demonstrate last night after my uncle stopped by."

Scott nodded, accepting the explanation and looked to Derek. "Does that have anything to do with why your eyes are blue again?" he asked.

Derek walked over to them nodding. As he came he picked up the other hunting blade from the table where it had been discarded the night before and handed it to Kyla by the hilt. With another light press the dagger was a bracelet like it's twin. A slight blush crept into her cheeks at the memory of exactly why she hadn't picked up her daggers the night before crept in to her mind.

Being polite, neither werewolf made any sort of comment. Though a small smirk formed at the edge of Derek's mouth. "Kyla's uncle is the Greek god of medicine," he explained to Scott. 'He fixed whatever Kate did to me now," he shrugged. "Everything's back to normal."

"If a Banshee did create the Dead Pool," Scott began worriedly. "Then there's something else you should know," his next words came out in a rush. "Your name broke the last third of the list."

Cold spread through Kyla like someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water down her back. Derek nodded one in realization. "And the first two were Allison, and Aiden."

"I don't want o make either of you nervous but," Scott hurried to say. "It kind of feels like there might be a patter there doesn't it? Allison, Aiden, you.."

"Names picked by a banshee," Derek said calmly.

Kyla shook her head. "It can't be soon," she protested. Derek's fingers tangled slightly with hers as an attempt at comfort but Kyla shook her head again. "When people I'm really close to are about to die I can feel it," she reminded both of them. She turned her head to look up at Derek. "You feel alive to me."

"It- it could mean that you're in danger," Scott stumbled to say, looking up at Derek with an expression suggesting he was clinging to a vague hope. Kyla knew why. No matter what the relationship had started as between Scott and Derek, Scott looked at Derek the way little brothers look at their older siblings, or the way sports captains looked up to their coached.

"Scott," Derek said, in a tired, gentle voice. His hand tightened around hers. "Banshees don't predict danger. They predict death."

* * *

The next day Kyla actually managed to get through school, homework, gymnastics, without anyone trying to kill her. Though it was unsurprising that the day seemed to go more quickly. Her brain was pretty much on autopilot. Well anyone's would be if they had just been told that their boyfriend might be about to die at any moment.

Derek's car pulled up in front of the gym and she climbed in. "Hey," she greeted.

"Hi," he murmured, leaning across and kissing her. His mouth felt warm and soft against hers and very much alive. Then he pulled back and started the car again. "Where are we headed?"

Kyla was about to answer that they could go to her house as Liz Point had a day off from work and was going to get her kids when her phone buzzed with a new text message. She let out a small laugh and Derek leaned across, glancing at the screen. "Why are you getting messages from The Clean Water Project?"

Kyla laughed again and opened the text message, reading it quickly. "It's a call from one of my friends. For half bloods, broadcasting our location over airwaves in any way is pretty dangerous. Like shooting up a flare for monsters that says **FREE FOOD.** So, if one of us needs to make a call but doesn't have a phone that's ben modified to be safe the way that mine has, we pick up a random one, make a call, get a reply, and then ditch it."

"Why the pool?" Derek asked. "It's not like it's swim season."

"My friend Percy likes water," Kyla explained. "Being the son of the god of the ocean and everything."

He nodded. "So that makes him your what? First cousin once removed?"

Kyla sighed. It was always difficult trying to explain to people how everyone was related on the godly side of her family. "Kind of. The gods all call themselves siblings or relatives or whatever but they don't actually share any DNA. If you wanted to go by conventional genealogy then all demigods would be cousins to some degree. But because the gods aren't really related as long as you don't share a godly parent with another half blood you're not related to them."

"Okay," Derek said. "I don't get it. But okay."

She shrugged. "Good enough."

The car pulled in to the empty lot of the swimming pool and Derek paused for a moment, listening. Kyla could see that the door was unlocked, but other than that she had nothing. "You're friend is in the pool." He told her.

Kyla nodded and pressed a kiss against Derek's cheek. Then she got out of the car and jogged through the doors to the pool. Percy was indeed in the water swimming laps. An orange camp T-shirt was thrown over one of the empty pool loungers. A pair of beaten up basketball shoes was set on the cement beside them. Percy did his second length of the pool without coming up for breath. "Hey!" Kyla shouted. "Kelp head!"

Percy's head popped up out of the water and he grinned at her. "Hey Kyla!" He swam t the edge of the pool and climbed out, drying instantaneously. Kyla tossed him his shirt and he pulled it on over his now dry swim shorts. Then he pulled her in to a tight hug before backing up and appraising her. "Are you okay? We heard you got shot."

"I was," Kyla admitted. "But then Apollo stopped by and healed me." She patted her stomach, "all healed."

Percy nodded and looked over her head. "Who's this?"

Kyla stepped back and took Derek's hand, pulling him forward. "Percy, this is Derek Hale. He's my boyfriend and a werewolf so please don't tell Thalia because then my mother will know and then she'll kill me."

Percy shrugged and held out his hand for Derek to shake. "Hey dude," he said. Derek shook his hand somewhat warily. "Percy Jackson son of Poseidon. As long as you don't try to kill me we'll be cool. I've got a pet hellhound and Cerberus wasn't half bad."

Derek's eyes flashed in annoyance. "I'm a werewolf not a hellhound. What even is a hellhound?"

"The definition is pretty much in the name on that one," Kyla told him. "Hopefully you'll never have to see one up close."

Percy shuddered and Kyla knew he was remembering the first hellhound he had ever seen. "Yeah. The first one I ever saw tried to kill me when I was twelve. Kind of ruined my perception of capture the flag. The second time I ever played it Zoe Nightshade shot me with a gas arrow. Then that other camp game we played with Daedalus got us stuck in the Labyrinth."

Kyla rolled her eyes. "Maybe you just shouldn't play camp games," she suggested. It was alarmingly true actually. Every time they had ever played a game at camp it had ended with Percy getting in to some kind of trouble.

"So what kind of stuff can you do?" Derek asked. "Kyla can hunt. That DiAngelo kid can shadow travel and talk to the dead. What does being a son of Poseidon let you do?"

Percy shrugged and raised a hand. A large sphere of water levitated over the pool. Percy raised it so that it was high in the air and then detonated it with a quiet, fiery, explosion. He looked back at Derek. "That for one thing. Plus I can breath underwater and water will heal me. I can talk to fish to, but that's not exactly helpful." He began to push his feet in to his shoes and turned his attention to Kyla as he sat on a lounger. "So what's been going on around here?"

* * *

It got dark out as Kyla relayed what had been happening in Beacon Hills to Percy. Beginning at the Nogitsune and finishing with the story of Lydia's aunt. Although Derek noted that she did chose to leave out some of the more *ahem* personal details. He allowed his eyes to switch to blue to improve his vision as light faded farther and farther in to shadows. From the slight tensing of his muscles, Derek could tell that Percy had noticed the color significance.

"How is this Dead Pool any different from the last seventeen years of having to worry that anyone could morph in to a terrifying monster and kill you?" Percy asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Most of these guys are actually human," Kyla supplied with a shrug. "Plus they're doing it for money not food."

Percy nodded in acceptance of this. "So I guess using Riptide is out," he mused.

"Riptide?" Derek asked with a touch of skepticism.

The son of Poseidon nodded to him and pulled a pen from his pocket and uncapped it. The pen expanded and changed in to a long almost leaf shaped sword. "Anaklusmos," Percy said, pointing out the name etched in to one side of the blade near the hilt. Then he spun it around and showed the English translation on the other side. "Lot's of ancient Greek weapons are named, but the celestial bronze doesn't work on humans." He recapped the pen and the blade shrunk away.

"Do all of your weapons change in to normal household object?" Derek asked. He had seen Kyla's bow appear at her will, and seen the daggers spring from her charm bracelets.

Kyla and Percy exchanged a glance with each other. "Pretty much," Kyla told him. "We can't really just carry swords around. Thalia keeps a spear in a mace canister."

"The most straight up one I've seen was the modified pump action shot gun in the weapons she at camp," Percy said. "Annabeth keeps saying that someone needs to get rid of it before she just lets Leo melt the thing."

Kyla tipped her head. "Where is Annabeth? Could she not get out of school?"

Percy shook his head. "It's SAT week at her school so her dad made her stick around. She's coming down tomorrow. I'll Iris Message her tonight and tell her to load up on some supplies."

"This girl is the daughter of Athena?" Derek checked. the others both nodded. "Then forget supplies," he sad intently. "Tell her to bring a plan."

Kyla's phone rang and she flipped it open. She looked up at him, green eyes wide. "It's Scott. He says something's seriously wrong at the bonfire. He's with Malia and Liam. He says that they're acting almost like they're drunk."

Derek might have rolled his eyes, but given the amount of people who had been trying different ways to try to kill them, he was going to take it seriously. Besides, werewolves couldn't get drunk. Instead he stood up and they all loaded in to the car. Percy had climbed in to the back seat with them, saying that his Pegasus (apparently he had one) was resting from the trip. Derek's senses twitched slightly. Percy gave off an aura of straight power mixed with salt. Basically the kid smelled like the ocean.

"He's not answering," Kyla said urgently as Scott refused to pick up his phone for the third time in a row. "I'm calling Braeden in too," she told him. "If something's gong this wrong we need all the help available and Argent still isn't responding."

Derek nodded and slammed his foot on the accelerator. Braeden the mercenary wasn't his favorite person ever, but he recognized that she owed him one, and she could handle herself in a fight.

They pulled up in front of the school and Derek immediately filtered out the noise of drunk teenagers and partying. The pounding of the music almost made his head spin though. He groaned slightly and immediately clapped his hands over his ears. "It's the music!" he shouted. Realization dawned on Percy's face and he jammed a set of noise cancelation ear plugs in to his hand. Derek put them in without question and nodded to indicate that he was good.

Kyla pointed at the school and he and Percy followed her inside. Derek knew that Kyla was relying on her tracking abilities to find Scott, but he trusted her. A few moments later, Braeden emerged through a side door carrying a shot gun. She said something, but with the headphones in Derek couldn't tell what it was.

Then they launched in to the fight. Derek engaged with three men cracking the neck of the first one, and slamming the second in to the lockers. The third one he simply tore at with his claws until they collapsed and didn't get up again. He could see Kyla moving with through her opponents the way a ballerina would dance through a routine. Braeden went with the brutality route and simply slammed in to everyone with the butt of her shotgun. Percy's fighting stile involved lots of ducking and rolling. Unorthodox, but effective so who cared?

Then it was over, and Kyla was standing in front of him. Her mouth was moving but Derek just shook his head, unable to hear what she was saying. She beamed, and Derek could see her laughing. Then her arms slid around his neck and her mouth was against his. Derek's arms immediately slid around her waist, pressing her against him so tightly her feet were almost of the ground. He felt one of her hands tangle in his hair before sliding down with the other to frame his jaw. Derek slipped his tongue into her mouth, mapping out ever single corner the way he had the night before. He felt her shiver and then her small fingers were near his ears, pulling out the ear plugs.

She pulled away very slightly. "I said," she repeated, placing a kiss just below his ear. "The music stopped." Then she dropped back on the balls of her feet with a grin and walked over to help Malia.

Derek took a second to force his eyes t change back to normal before crossing to Scott and helping the teen to his feet. "Ear plugs?" he asked, sounding slightly out of breath from the effects of the music.

Derek shrugged. "It was them or death."

"Oh," Scott remembered. "Yeah. Good point." A small smile pricked at the edges of Derek's mouth. Scott was a true Alpha and he was good at being one, but he was still a teenager who had only been dealing with this kind of thing for less than two years. Scott glanced over his shoulder and spotted Percy. "Who's that?"

"A friend of Kyla's," Derek told him. "The one who brought the earplugs."

Percy shrugged and stepped forward to shake Scott's hand. "That works. I stated thinking I should keep a pair on me after the whole thing with the Sirens when I was thirteen. I'm Percy Jackson son of Poseidon."

"Scott," Scott introduced.

Braeden tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Whatever," she said. "I'll be around if you people need me tomorrow. You've got my number." Then she pushed out the front doors. Malia followed after her a few minutes later.

Liam was still on the floor though. Derek crouched in front of him. The kid looked pale and shaky. Really, he looked like a fifteen year old kid who had nearly been set on fire by some maniac who had seen his name next to a number on a list. "You okay?" he asked. Liam pulled his head up and off his knees and nodded at him. Derek noted his blown out pupils and white face and sighed. "No you're not." Then he pulled Liam to his feet, holding the teen below his elbows to keep him on his feet. "Scott!" he called. "You need to take Liam home."

Scott rubbed his eyes. "I have to go back to my house first," he said tiredly.

"Then take Liam to your house," Derek said forcefully. He let a commanding note in to his tone. Peopled had always been inclined to do what he said. Talking convincingly had gotten him to lots of places. Scott moved to do what he said and looped an arm under his Beta's shoulders to walk him out. Liam sent him a thankful glance over his shoulder and Derek nodded once. He could already feel big brother syndrome developing towards the kid.

Kyla sighed and Derek felt the weight of her head against his shoulder. "Okay," she said. "I think we should all head home and try to get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow's going to be a rough one."

Derek nodded and kissed her hair. "I'll drop you and Percy at your house."

She tipped her head up and kissed him. "No, you're staying with me so I know you actually sleep." Derek slid an arm around her waist and held her against him, kissing her more deeply, sucking her lower lip in to his mouth and letting it go slowly.

As he moved to kiss her again, he dimly heard Percy mutter. "Good thing I brought the earplugs."

Derek felt inclined to agree with him.

**A/N: So how did I do? I meant to have this up earlier but the chapter kept on refusing to save. What did you think of the Derek and Liam interaction? I was thinking how I wished the show did more of that when I realized it's freaking fanfiction! I can write whatever I want! I brought in Percy. Was he on character? I'm bringing in some other Percy Jackson characters tomorrow. Review for me!xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxxoxoxooxxoxoxooxxooxxooxxoxoxoxoxooxxooxxoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxox**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from anywhere where the person who made it up got paid does not belong to me.**

Sleeping (or not) both turned out not to be options on the menu for the night. After a stressed and slightly panicked call from Scott, Kyla, Derek, and Percy had loaded back in to Derek's car. Percy used Kyla's phone to call more help from camp, and then Kyla called Clary, Jace, and the Lightwoods. Braeden had also been called. Whatever was happening, they were going to need all the help they could get.

After hearing the address of where Scott and Kira where with Sitome's pack, Derek had stepped on the gas. "That's the address for the warehouse Argent's company used when he was still dealing firearms," he explained.

When they arrived at the warehouse, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, and Hazel were all waiting. Kyla rushed from the car and greeted all of them. "How did you all get here this fast?" she asked.

"We commandeered the flying chariot," Annabeth said. "Not exactly the most popular decision, but it was the quickest plan at the time. Leo made a couple adjustments so we could all fit."

Leo shook his curly head dismissively. "It was nothing. It only took fifteen minutes. Twenty tops. Now if I could only figure out a way to install a microwave..."

Jason interfered before that thought could continue in a more dangerous direction. He tossed a small key to Percy. "The pegasi don't like meas much as they like you," he said. "But we still got here okay. Hazel and Piper came on Arion."

"Yeah," Piper said, she looked like she felt a little bit sick. "I vote to not do that again," she glanced at Hazel. "No offense to your horse."

Hazel shrugged. "None taken." She frowned momentarily and then looked up at Derek. Her gold eyes widened a fraction. "Um, Kyla," she said. 'Who is that? And why does it feel like a whole lot of people in his life have died?"

Piper elbowed hazel in the ribs but she looked at Derek to. "What Hazel means," she said pleasantly. "Is please introduce us."

Kyla sighed and grabbed on to Derek's hand, dragging him forward so that he was standing in front of the whole group. "Guys this is Derek Hale. Derek, this is, well everyone." She pointed to people as she gave names. "The one who asked about the death is Hazel the daughter of Pluto. The girl with the feathers in her hair is Piper the daughter of Aphrodite. The blonde guy is her boyfriend Jason the son of Jupiter. The big guy who hasn't talked yet is Frank, Hazel's boyfriend and the son of Mars. The blonde girl now making out with Percy is Annabeth daughter of Athena. And the kid who's hair is smoking is Leo the son of Hephaestus.

There was a general chorus of greetings and Derek nodded in acknowledgement. A black motorcycle pulled up, and Braeden climbed off, carrying several large bags of weaponry. "I thought we might need some human weaponry," she explained.

Kyla sighed. She didn't have the energy to go all the way back through the introductions, so instead she just said. "Guys, Braeden. Braeden, these are the reinforcements."

The mercenary cocked an eyebrow. "Seven teenagers? Are you kidding me?"

"We've got five more coming," Kyla told her. "And these seven teenagers have fought in two wars each minimum."

Leo ran a hand over his shaggy hair. "Hey Kyla?" he said. "Is it okay that we parked the chariot on the roof? We weren't sure where else to put it. It's not really like this place had a stable. Or a garage so..."

"It's fine Leo," Kyla assured him. "Let's finish this conversation inside."

* * *

Once they got inside and went back over the introductions, things began to move forward fairly quickly. They faced a brief snag when they reached the part of the conversation that included the 'we're doing all this to protect a pack of werewolves' detail, but once the demigods had been assured that these werewolves were the good guys they were quickly on board. Derek got the feeling that they were doing it more because Kyla had asked them to than anything else, but he wasn't going to argue. Help was help.

Derek spent several minutes getting a fix on the different group members. They all worked well together, like parts of a machine that had taken enough time to click in to place correctly. From what he could see, Percy and Jason were the leaders. The others looked to the two of them and Kyla for decision making. In turn, both boys looked to Annabeth to establish an overall method. Leo was constantly talking and fidgeting. He couldn't stay still to save his life, but he seemed to keep everyone talking and laughing. Piper seemed to be the group ambassador, and she was the only demigod besides Kyla that Sitome's pack members allowed to treat their injuries. Hazel worried over the small details while Frank did his best to keep everyone calm.

Each demigod had a very specific scent as well. Jason's scent was tinged with a natural aura of power, but he also smelled like a slight electric charge. It was the kind of scent of air before a thunder storm. Piper smelled like a rose. There was really no other way to describe it. Annabeth carried the scent of books. Ink, paper, and knowledge mixed with lemon soap. Hazel smelled the way that Nico had. Powerful, but tinged with death. Unlike her brother though, Hazel's scent carried an edge of minerals. Leo smelled like metal and fire, which made sense as Derek had noticed that his body started to smoke when he got nervous. Frank smelled a bit like the ocean, and also bizarrely a bit like animals. It was the same sort of combination that was key to werewolf scents. Derek found that bizarrely reassuring.

"Hey Argent!" Percy called, jogging up to the hunter. "Does this building have running water?"

The hunter looked up from the weapons he was assessing with Braeden. Argent looked slightly perturbed by the question. "It should," he replied.

"Sick!" Percy said with a thumbs up before jogging away. "Hey Leo!" Derek heard him call. "Have you got a hose?"

Derek couldn't see how Leo could possibly have a hose, but the Hispanic teenager just shrugged. "Probably. Most workshops have them incase of emergency," then after a few minutes of searching through the tool belt around his waste, he extracted a long length of hose and handed it to Percy. "Knock yourself out. Only don't."

"Thanks dude," Percy said. He looked over at Annabeth. "I found a sink to connect it to."

The blonde girl nodded. "Okay Seaweed Brain. Just try to get it so you can aim at the front door."

Percy nodded and disappeared in to the corner of Argent' warehouse. "Um, what are you doing?" Kira asked Jason and Leo who were working together to pry off the surge protectors from some electrical wiring.

"I can channel the electricity if I can get at it," Jason explained.

Kira looked shocked. "Are you a kitsune and a demigod?"

"Um," Jason said, sounding confused. "No? I don't actually know what a kitsune is. My dad is kind of the god of thunder."

That wasn't even the weirdest interaction going on in the room. A little ways away, Frank morphed into a giant grizzly bear, and began helping Hazel tear large chunks of concrete out of the floor. As the concrete vanished, Hazel held out her hand and filled the gaps with thick, black dirt. "Nico sowed me how to summon zombie warriors out of dirt," she explained as she saw Derek watching her. "Just don't pick up the gemstones when they show up."

Derek felt his eyebrows raise, but he nodded anyway to indicate that he understood. With Sitome's pack members, Piper seemed to be talking the werewolves hunter induced and wolfs bane filled wounds in to closing. Derek shook his head and tried not to think about any of it too hard. He had been a werewolf his entire life, but a lot of these abilities were a little out of his league.

Kyla walked over to him and took one of his hands in both of hers. "Hey!" she said brightly.

"Hi," he greeted. His eyes swept back over the group. Half the floor was now filled with black dirt. Jason and Leo had exposed most of the electrical wiring in one wall, and Percy was feeding a hose toward the doorway. "Do you guys always fight... like this?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I know it's kind of a lot to take in, but we're all jus playing our strengths. Percy can control water and he's damn good with a sword, but he can't shoot to save his life, so he doesn't set up to use a bow," she considered something. "Okay so there was one time on this demonic cattle ranch when he shot to save his life, but that was a one off. Frank can turn into different animals, so he uses that to help when he can, but he's seriously clumsy. No one can beet Annabeth for strategy so we let her pan things. Leo is jittery and he doesn't really use weapons, but he can make anything with pretty much whatever. To win battles you don't take chances, you play what you're good at. It's just how we survive."

Derek nodded. "As long as it works."

Kyla smiled and kissed him. "It'll work. Besides, you're head hasn't exploded yet from trying to understand all of this. You're ahead of the game."

A large circle of wall glowed a swirling purple. Five figures wearing black Shadowhunter gear tripped out and promptly sprawled in a large square of newly created earth. A verbal shower of curses and profanity rained through the air as the newcomers tried to untangle themselves. "Alec," Jace's voice said with deadly calm. "Get the Mundane's elbow away from my spleen before I break his arm."

"Okay," Kyla conceded with a sigh. "You're head might start exploding now."

Derek rolled his eyes sarcastically. "Great."

Kyla moved forward to introduce the two of the group that the others hadn't met before. She gestured to the taller of the two boys who had the same night black hair as Isabelle and piercing blue eyes. "People, this is Izzy's brother Alec." She pointed to the second boy who had thick brown hair and brown eyes. This one actually smelled almost completely human. "This is Simon."

"What?" Jace demanded. "You're not going to introduce me?"

Kyla rolled her eyes. "Basically everyone here already knows who you are Jace. Now go be useful and help Annabeth come up with a plan."

The blonde teen swept her a theatrical bow. "At your service Mademoiselle."

The new boy Alec sighed with the long suffering air of someone who had been dealing with Jace's antics for way too long to be bothered by them and pushed his friend towards where Annabeth was sitting studying blue prints before making his way over to Kyla. Derek liked his attitude about the whole thing immediately. "hey Kyla," he greeted. He held out his hand and Derek shook it. "Alec Lightwood."

"Derek Hale."

Alec nodded. "I heard a bit about you. I did some research on your family after Jace told me he'd met you. I thought it sounded familiar. Do you know much about your blood line."

He shook his head. "Not back further than the last six generations."

"We should talk later then," the teen offered. "You might think the file is interesting. I brought a copy in my bag. You can have it once we figure this out."

Derek nodded in thanks. "Where's Magnus?" Kyla asked.

A small smile graced Alec's face. "The Peruvian embassy," he said. "Trying to get unbanned from the country. Apparently it's something he does every year. He's been trying to make friends with the ambassador."

Derek was internally debating weather or not he wanted to ask how exactly someone could get banned from a country when Scott walked over to them, looking worried. "Are you guys going to be alright?" he asked anxiously.

Derek glanced over at where Sitome's pack was milling around Piper as she attempted to keep them calm and teach a few of them how to use weapons. He let out a breath. "They've got fangs and claws but they're not fighters." He began walking towards Braeden with Kyla and Alec faded out to join his sister and Simon.

"That's why I called you guys," Scott said, looking from him to Kyla.

"Well," Derek said as he reluctantly picked up a handgun from Braeden's table of supplies. He didn't like guns. It was probably a result of having been shot multiple times, but at this point he didn't know if he'd be able to get close enough to whatever was coming after them to use his claws. "Try to remember using claws might not be possible here."

Braeden loaded a round into her weapon. "That's why you called me. But just me might not be enough either."

"We know," Kyla commented, picking up a long range rifle and checking the scope. She waved her free hand towards where her Shadowhunter and demigod friends were working. "That's why I called them."

Kira pitched in from Scott's side. "Am I the only one still hoping that this could all just be a false alarm?" She looked anxiously between the other four of them. "I mean, there's still a chance we could wait here all night and have nothing happen right?"

Derek glanced once at Kyla who looked doubtful and then over at Scott. If someone was going to crush Kira's optimistic dreams, it might as well be her boyfriend. Optimists didn't exist much in their kind of world. Probably because they were all dead. Scott was saved by Braeden asking. "Scott have you heard anything from Stiles or Lydia yet?"

"Lydia is still talking to Meredith," Scott reported. 'Stiles and Malia are headed to the Lake House. They're trying to stop it!"

Brett stepped out of the knot of wolves that made up Sitome's pack. He had clearly heard their conversation. There wasn't really any such thing as a private conversation in a large room filled with werewolves. The best you could hope for was to be politely ignored. 'What if there is no stopping it?" he asked. There was that signature crushing realism. "What if it doesn't end until we're all dead?"

Derek took a deep breath as everyone glanced around at everyone else. The demigods and Nephilim stopped their work as well. The only eyes that didn't wander were Kyla's. Her pale green irises were fixed on his face. It almost looked like she was waiting. Waiting for him to speak. Derek looked out at all of them. "So let's send a message," he said clearly. He didn't raise his voice, but everyone was looking at him now.

Even Scott turned to look at him, his eyes hopeful that whatever Derek said next would give them all new hope. Scott was the Alpha, but he was also a seventeen year old kid who didn't quite know what else there was to do. Derek kept speaking. "Let's make tonight perfectly clear," h continued. "To anyone who has a copy of that list."

He began taking slow steps toward the front of the space so that he was standing in front of the plastic covered windows. "That it doesn't matter if they're hunters, professional assassins, or an amateur who just picked up a gun," he held up the handgun he was still holding. 'Anyone who thinks that they can hunt and kill us for money gets to be put on another list. _Our _list." He paused and let all the anger ad rage he had felt at every single person who had ever tried to kill or hurt someone he loved leak in to his voice. "They get to be a name on _our _Dead Pool."

The only response he got was the loud click of Braeden locking a round in to her gun. When he looked at Kyla, he saw that her eyes were glowing a pale, beautiful, moonlight silver green.

* * *

"We have a plan," Annabeth stated. They had all gathered around one of the metal tables Argent kept in the warehouse. Kyla leaned forward. Those words had both dropped them in to a few very difficult situations. However, they had gotten them out of every single one. "Everyone is playing their advantages," she explained. "Everyone will be positioned according to this plan," she showed them the blue prints Clary had sketched where all of their names were written in neat handwriting.

Jace cut in to take over the explanations. "All of the people using distance weapons are going to be I charge of covering at least two of the people fighting at close range. Those groups have all been assigned." He reached in to his pocket and extracted a piece of paper that had groups of names written down on them. "Simon, you're covering Isabelle and Annabeth. Alec, you're covering me and Clary so please don't get us killed." Alec rolled his eyes but Jace kept going. "Kyla, you've got Argent and Derek," Kyla nodded. "Braeden is covering Scott and Kira. And Leo will be covering Percy and Jason. I figure that way we can put it out if he sets something on fire we don't want on fire. Frank, you're on Piper and Hazel."

Everyone nodded and moved to their positions. Everyone who was used to using a range weapon including Kyla got a brief run down on guns. Frank and Alec already knew their way around firearms from training. Kyla had perfect aim regardless of the weapon she used, and Leo was pretty much just going to hurl fireballs and explosives. Simon however, needed a bit of a lesson.

Each of them had been given slightly raised positions which would enable them to keep an eye on the fighting below. It was smart to assign who would cover who. It meant that no one in the battle would be left completely out in the cold. Between all of them, they had even divided up who was going to cover which members of Sitome's pack.

Of course, as soon as the fighting really kicked in to gear, it probably wouldn't matter who was assigned to where anyway. People would move around and shot as needed.

To occupy herself until the fighting began, Kyla focused on trying to read Simon's T-shirt. They could almost always make her laugh. This one said **Clearly I have made some questionable decisions. **She laughed. Well wasn't that the truth.

* * *

The harsh beeping of the alarm Argent had attached near the door signaled the beginning of the fight. Derek centered himself. However these next few minutes played out, it was going to get chaotic and brutal. It couldn't really go any other way with the amount of mixed fighting stiles and alternate powers in the room. "They're coming," Derek heard Argent say grimly.

Smoke canisters came first, clouding the air with grey fog. "Get back!" Braeden shouted. Then stun grenades exploded in a shower of sparks. Through the doors came what looked like nearly and entire SWAT team, all guns blazing.

Derek launched himself forward in a roll, coming up at a side wall that provided a small measure of cover and began returning fire. With that much gun fire, getting close enough to use his claws or teeth was going to be nearly impossible. The sound of rushing water exploded through his ears and he heard Percy shouting something to Jason. Then there was a loud crackle of electricity and panicked shouting. Risking a quick glance, Derek saw that Percy had soaked half the soldiers and then set up Jason to electrocute them.

The gun shots continued. Their side returned fire. In Leo's case that was literal as fireballs rained down around them. Exploding arrows came from Frank and Kyla. The Shadowhunters ducked and wove among the soldiers going toe to toe. Hazel shot small sparkling objects that looked almost like gem stones off of her palms, intercepting their fire. Skeletons erupted from the earth around her and joined the fight as well.

Derek ended up back to back with Braeden. "How may are there!" he shouted over the noise. Their side was doing much better than expected with all the additional help, but their were just _so many _enemies. If anymore kept coming then sooner or later someone was going to get killed.

"Too many!" Braeden shouted back.

Another soldier rounded a corner only to fall back wit a silver arrow embedded in his throat. Derek looked up, searching frantically. His wolf eyes found Kyla silhouetted in faint silver light, a gun over her shoulder and her bow in hand. She looked like his own personal guardian angel.

Derek kept firing as he hear Scott telling someone to get the others to hide. Then the Alpha began calling for Kira. Everyone was moving end firing. Electricity crackled, earth exploded, and water rushed as gun shots rang out. People fell to the ground all around. The smell of blood and gun powder blocked out nearly everything else. Snarls and roars tore through his throat and intermingled with Scott's and Sitome's.

Then suddenly, everything went quiet. The last of the soldiers vanished. Slowly, everyone began to make their way towards the front of the room. Jason's hair was standing on end from all of the electricity he had channeled. Leo's clothes were singed and Piper was covered in soot. Annabeth was soaked from fighting so close to Percy who was still holding the end of the hose. Hazel was covered in dirt and Frank's quiver was empty. Clary was drawing a healing rune on Jace's arm where blood was leaking from a bullet graze. Alec and Simon were flanking Isabelle as she wobbled slightly on a twisted ankle. Argent and Braeden kept their weapons out, glancing warily around. Brett and Sitome emerged. A small blonde girl trailed just behind Brett, clutching his hand. Scott joined Kira, fingers locked with hers.

Then Kyla emerged from the clearing smoke. She ram towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. Derek wrapped his arms around her and crushed her body against his for reassurance. Focusing just slightly, he could hear her heart pounding. The smell of blood was mixed with her natural scent, but after a quick survey he could attribute it to a variety of healing cuts and gashes. Kyla's hand was crushed between the two of them, pressing against his chest directly over his heart. Derek brushed her hair to the side and momentarily pressed his head in to the crook of her neck, breathing in the smell of moonlight.

He felt Kyla lift her head slightly and raise his own to look down on her. She pressed her lips against his. The kiss was sweet and quick. The kind of kiss that was for reassurance, and hinted at something more later. The subtext on both parts was basically, 'I'm incredibly happy we didn't both just die but we have other things we have to do right now.' It was good enough at the moment.

Scott glanced at Argent who gave him a small nod, and then gave the same gesture to Derek, indicating that he was okay. "Is it over?" Kira asked in an echoing whisper. "Really over?" Scott turned his head. Derek saw that his face was covered in blood spatter. He saw the Alpha nod once. It was done. They were alive.

* * *

Soon after everyone began to go home. Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, and Leo loaded in to the flying chariot and on to Arion to head back to camp. Jace, Clary, Simon, and a still limping Isabelle climbed through a Portal Clary created. Alec followed a moment later. Clary saw him hand Derek the Clave's file on his family before he disappeared. Scott took Kira home, and Argent used his van to drop off Sitome and her pack.

Kyla didn't even ask questions. She just took Derek's hand and wen back to Derek's loft with him. Ten minutes later, they just sat together against the pillows on his bed. Derek's eyes were shut as he leaned his head back against the pillows. Kyla's body was curled against his chest, her ear pressed to his heart. After all of the fighting that day, the steady rhythm was the most reassuring sound in the world.

"You okay?" Derek asked, his fingers rubbing up and down her spine.

Kyla opened her eyes and looked up at him. His hazel green eyes were studying her. "Yeah," she said. "I'm alive, so is everyone I care about. The Dead Pool is gone. No more professional assassins. Why wouldn't I be okay."

"You killed someone today," Derek said in a low voice, his fingers not pausing in their stroking. "At least one person. Maybe more."

She sighed. "If I hadn't there's a chance you would have been the one dead. Doing something bad for a good reason doesn't make you a bad person." She shifted so she was facing him and slipped her arms up around his neck. She paused a moment, picking her words. Derek waited, his hands sliding down around her waist.

"There's a difference between bad people, and good people who do bad things," she began. "Good people who do bad things know that the bad things they do are bad. They feel guilt and remorse. The bad things they've done might have been things they had to do, but they never would have done them if they had another option. Bad people don't feel regret. Bad people do bad things and they think what they're doing is _right_."

She combed her fingers absently through the hair at the back of his neck. Derek's eyelids slipped shut and she could feel his neck muscles relax. "I've seen real monsters," she said quietly. "Not all of them have scales, fangs, and tentacles. Some of them just have guns," she lent her forehead against his. "Killing those monsters does not make me like _them_," she said fervently. "I _have _to believe that. Otherwise I'd be resigning my self to the lowest circle of hell."

"Well you know what they say," Derek murmured, pressing a kiss against her lips and trailing them towards her collar bone. Kyla let her eyes shut and shook her head slightly. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions," Derek finished against her skin.

"Actually," Kyla murmured with a smile. Derek's head came up and he looked at her. "I've seen two different roads to hell, and neither one was paved with good intentions. Thorns on one, maybe some grey industrial carpeting on the other."

Derek shook his head and leaned in to kiss her. Kyla let herself melt into the warmth of his kiss. Her body molded perfectly against his and Derek lifted her up slightly so she could straddle his lap. Kyla started to let herself stop thinking completely as Derek's warm fingers began to snake up the edges of her shirt, and push it up her body.

Kyla ran her hands up his chest along his bare skin. She let everything in her mind vanish completely, as they continued kissing to the beat of his heart under her fingers.

**A/N: So how was it? You guys have to tell me! I'm up to speed with the episodes now, so obviously it's going to be a little longer until the next chapter unless I just fill in with pointless fluff. It'll be a little longer until the next update anyway since I have to help my sister move in to college in Scotland. REVIEW FOR ME! xoxoxoxoxooxxoxoxoxoooxoxooxoxoxxoxoxxoxooxxoxoxo**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I've written one of these for twenty-two other chapters. If knowing that own nothing is so important to you go and read it in one of them.**

There is something that people should know about sleeping next to a werewolf. It's _warm. _And by warm, Kyla meant _really freaking warm. _Sleeping spooned against Derek's bare chest with his arm tucking her in against him was like being next to her own personal space heater. Kyla was grateful for the warmth as Derek's loft was almost always cold, but it did mean that her sleepwear had taken a direction that more closely resembled underwear. Having mentioned this o Derek, he had simply looked her up and down and cracked a half-grin that you could easily define as 'wolfish' if you wanted to get puny.

Kyla came awake to the feeling of Derek's arm tightening along her stomach and chest, shaking her very slightly. "Kyla," he called in to her ear. She felt a shiver run down her spine as warm air ghosted across the back of her neck. The note of urgency in Derek's tone brought her in to awareness a whole lot faster. After a while of living on edge, you didn't fall asleep vey deeply.

She sat up and saw Derek looking alert, his eyes flicking around the room wit intense focus. He nodded towards the alarm which was now flashing and Kyla slid out of bed, willing her bow to appear in her hand. After a quick look down at her attire which consisted of black and silver underwear her quiver, and her bow, Kyla fought the urge to role her eyes. If her mother could see her then then her immortal life might just be brought to a halt by her brain exploding.

Derek and Kyla moved through the loft, checking corners as they went. Derek crossed to the window on silent feet and examined the street below. He shook his head at her indicating that the street was clear. Kyla noted a small shadow cross under the edge of the loft door and inclined her head towards it.

She loaded and arrow and lined up a shot. If what was outside was a threat, she would be able to annihilate it. Derek glanced down at his hand and watched his claws creep from his nail beds. Kyla frowned as a flicker of expression crossed his face. The claws should have been quicker to emerge. Then without preamble, Derek swung the heavy steal door open.

But there was no threat. Instead the door opened to reveal a bedraggled looking Lydia. The strawberry-blonde girl looked like she had been standing out in the rain for hours. Derek immediately allowed his claws to retract and Kyla willed her bow to vanish. Derek half opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but before he could form a single syllable, Lydia opened her mouth. And then she _screamed. _

"I am going to be so late for school," Kyla moaned as she flitted around the loft trying to fix herself some kind of breakfast and get dressed at the same time. That wasn't strictly true, she still had about twenty minutes before she needed to get back to the admiral occupation of learning. Still though, after driving Lydia home in the middle of the night last night and over sleeping this morning, Kyla was feeling behind.

Derek came up behind her and Kyla felt his arms slide around her waist. Kyla could feel the warmth of his hands through the thin material of her blousy shirt which was still unzipped in the back. "You could always skip it," Derek suggested. Kyla felt his lips brush against the crook of her neck and her eyes fluttered shut.

Her fingers stilled on the coffee maker and she shook her head slowly. "Can't. I missed too much school during the whole Dead Pool thing. Besides I've got a historical fundraiser at the gym."

His fingers moved lightly down her spine, finding the zipper and pulling it up. "What exactly is that?"

Kyla turned and leaned against the kitchen counter facing him. "Basically all the elite girls are performing historical routines. The hope I that parents will come and drop money. I'm doing Olga Corbit's beam routine from the Olympics in 1972. Lot's of contortion."

Derek frowned in confusion. "Now how is that different from flexibility?"

She grinned and took a moment to be grateful she was wearing leggings. She gripped the toes of her right foot with her right hand and reached up, stretching her leg in a perfect vertical split. "Flexibility," she demonstrated. She twisted her leg around so that her back was arched and her toes were curved up over her shoulder. "Contortion."

"That is..." Derek searched for the right words as he examined the U shape of her back and the scorpion arch of her leg and toes. "Actually terrifying."

Kyla let he leg relax back to the floor and stuck her tongue out at him. "Said the legendary creature of the night."

Derek rolled his eyes and then his head shot up an glanced at the door. He frowned and concentrated on his sense of smell. It almost seemed to be dulling again. He pushed the thought back. "Scott's here."

"Well," Kyla said taking a half step forward and leaning up on her toes to kiss him. "You see what's up, and I'll go pack the rest of my gym stuff." She dropped back on her heels but Derek followed, leaning down to reattach their mouths. His arms slid around her hips and his tongue slid past her lips, thoroughly exploring her mouth before stepping away again. Kyla had to take a few moments to blink and come back to reality before she could walk to where her gym bag lay and ensure it was packed correctly.

She deliberately chose not to listen to Derek and Scott's conversation as much as possible. privacy might be difficult surrounded by werewolves, but that didn't mean it couldn't be attempted.

Derek examined the red duffel bag of money that Scott had set on the table before him and slid it back across the coffee table. "Okay," he said easily. Peter's money wasn't actually something he was interested in receiving.

Scott looked at him uncertainly. "Don't you want to know why I took so long to return it?"

Derek fought back a small smile. Scott's tone seemed more like that of a little brother who was expecting his older brother to be mad over a stolen toy than a pack Alpha returning money to a Beta. "How much do you make at the animal clinic?"

"Minimum wage," Scott answered immediately.

He nodded. The kid was probably counting every scent. Derek had never had to worry about money. The amount of cash he had had in his bank account even before he inherited everything his family had left him had been more than most people earned in a life time. Add to that the inheritance that was suppose to be split between him and several others but had instead all gone to him, and Derek was nearing the top ten percent of wealthy people in the country. "That's why," he explained. "Everyone can be tempted Scott, even a true Alpha."

"You're not angry?" Scott asked incredulously. Derek understood his take on it. When Scott had first met him, anger was the only constant thing Derek had. Anger was an easy first reaction, but now with Kyla around, and the new family that the pack had formed, he didn't need anger as an anchor so much.

He shrugged. "It's not even mine it belongs to Peter."

Scott frowned in confusion. "Then where's your money?"

Derek made a broad gesture indicating the whole of the loft. "You're standing on it."

The teen frowned down at the floor for a long moment. When he looked up his expression was bordering somewhere between impressed and incredulous. "There's another vault?" he asked in a hushed voice.

This time Derek let the smile crack through. "No," he said, shaking his head. "I own the building." Scott nodded once recognizing that it made sense. Derek wondered if Scott had simply assumed up until then that Derek had an extremely relaxed landlord who didn't care about all of the loud noises and property damage. "And I have my own bank accounts," he added. "All of the money from the vault was Peter's. I think we might actually be better off if the rest never came back." He stood and zipped the bag with a few quick tugs.

Kyla slid from the shadows carrying her back pack and her gym bag. Derek kept his eyes on Scott, sensing that something more was coming. "I know Lydia was here last night," Scott said seriously. "Deaton's still working on trying to figure out whatever Kate did to you. No matter how well Apollo fixed you your name was still a cypher key. And with last night-" he broke off and looked up at Derek with an earnest expression. "If anyone can find an answer Deaton can."

Derek gave him a short nod of acknowledgement and swung a jacket over his shoulders. "Did you walk here?" Scott nodded and Derek gestured towards the door. "I'll give you a ride. I'm taking Kyla anyway."

"Thanks," Scott said with relief. All of them began heading out the door and down the hallway. Suddenly Scott said, "You wouldn't happen to know where I could take Kira for a date would you?"

Derek's eyebrows shot up and Kyla rolled her eyes. "It's your first official date," she said, thankfully intercepting the question before Derek had to try to answer it. Do something special. maybe involving lights. Kira's a thunder Kitsune."

"Decorate the loft," Derek offered with a shrug. He met Kyla's almost all silver eyes with a small smile. "I have a gymnastics exhibition to go to." The bright smile that spread across Kyla's face made his entire brain freeze momentarily. making someone else happy wasn't a privilege he got to claim very often.

* * *

Kyla made her way through the crowd to Derek after the fundraiser was over. "What did you think?" she asked.

Derek took her hand, twisting their fingers together. "I think gymnasts are freakishly bendy," he offered up.

She shrugged. It was good enough. That was pretty much the point of the majority of her routine anyway. Lina ran up to her and wrapped both her arms around Kyla's side, straining to reach. Kyla laughed. "I have to take this one back home."

Angelina looked up at Derek with wide brown eyes. "Who's he," she asked Kyla quietly.

"He is my boyfriend," Kyla explained, trying to keep things as simple as possible. " His name is Derek. I know he looks big but I promise he's really nice. Okay?"

Lina nodded and tugged Kyla down to whisper in her ear asking if Derek was coming back home with them. Kyla glanced from the little girl to Derek, wondering if he had actually heard the whispered question. It looked like something was off with his abilities despite Apollo's healing. "Do you want him to?" she asked. Lina nodded and Kyla gave Derek a hopeful smile. "Feel like going back to Lina's with us for some dinner? I'm making pasta."

Derek shrugged. "Yeah," he said slowly. "Yeah pasta sounds good."

"No stealing tastes," Kyla warned playfully as they made their way towards the doors of the gym. Derek's larger body created a useful barrier between Lina, Kyla, and the oncoming crowd of people all moving in different directions. "You weren't raised by wolves."

He sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically as they stepped outside. "How long have you been holding on to that one?"

"A very long time," Kyla admitted shamelessly. "Now are you giving us a ride or what?"

Dinner went well. Kyla took care of dinner and kept Mathew from crying while Derek helped Angelina through her homework at the kitchen table. He really was incredibly good with kids, Kyla observed. He must have been an incredibly good big brother. Probably protective as hell, but a good brother. On the whole, it was one of the most normal and domestic evenings either of them had had in a very long time.

Until the phone call came.

**A/N: So how was it? I'm sorry that this one took so long to post. I was in Scotland for a week. I only got back on Sunday night and was way to jet lagged to write anything. School has started and I'm taking some tough classes so the next update will probably be up on Sunday sometime. I have some lovely ideas! Review for me!xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: So... How exactly do I put this? Oh right, I own absolutely nothing that you people recognize from something that actually made someone money.**

Large tables full of fire power just shouldn't have been as familiar to Kyla as they were at this point. Seventeen year old girls should be standing around desks full of homework and cosmetic products. Of course, she wasn't going to be seventeen for very much longer... She pulled her mind away from those thoughts and checked the sight on a rifle. Her regular arrows weren't enough against a berserker and she only had so many explosive arrows.

"Is still don't like having to rely on these things," Derek muttered bracing his hands against the table. Kyla bit her lower lip but said nothing. Whatever was going on with Derek's abilities _could not _have picked a worse time to kick back in. Not when they needed every possible advantage to take down Kate and save Scott and Kira.

Braeden loaded a clip of ammunition. The mercenary had helped Kyla give Derek a crash course on firearms. Archery was more Kyla's forte than sharp shooting so most of the teaching had been down to Braeden. "Hey I get it alright," she said. "You miss your power. I would to."

Derek frowned and shook his head. "It's not about power," he explained. His voice was slightly strained and Kyla could tell that he was trying not to sound frustrated. "It's about being able to help. I don't like feeling helpless."

"I'm human," Kyla cut in. "Well, a bit anyway. Braeden is to. Do either of us look helpless?"

His eyes scanned her up and down before they flicked to the large machine gun Braeden was holding. "You're both much better shots than me," he said finally. A tiny smile emerging as his eyes found hers again.

Kyla let out a deep breath. "Braeden do you mind giving us a minute?" she asked, not looking away. She waited until she heard the door slam behind the mercenary before she let her shoulders relax. She placed the gun on the table and leaned across it towards Derek, studying him. The edge of the table pressed against her hips and the metal felt cold below her fingers. "Do you really think you won't be coming back?"

Derek gave a tiny half shrug, looking down and avoiding her gaze. The gesture seemed exhausted, as though he had been carrying something heavy for a long time. They were _all _exhausted. "Not alive," he said finally.

Kyla pushed herself back from the table and walked around it until she was standing in front of him. "That's not okay with me and you know it," she stated. She stretched out her hand and pressed her palm against his chest, feeling his heart beet below her fingers. "You feel alive to me," she said quietly, tipping her head back a bit to look at him. "I'm not okay with that changing."

He didn't speak, turning his body fully towards her and closing the tiny distance between them. His large, warm hand came up to cradle her face, his fingers tangling just slightly in the loose strands of her hair. Derek leaned down pressing his mouth against hers. It was a different kind of kiss. The perfect kind. The kind that was so sweet and gentle and sad that you could almost feel your heart breaking a little.

"I am," he murmured after pulling away. His forehead was leaning down against hers. Kyla stared up at him, but his eyes were still closed. She couldn't speak. The words just wouldn't form. "You have to save Scott and Kira," he said quietly and then took a tiny step back. Kyla's hands tightened reflexively on his waist but she forced her fingers to release. "Let's be honest we don't even know if this is enough firepower to take down one berserker."

"Not. Even. Close," came a familiar drawling voice. Looking up, Kyla saw Peter making his way down the stairs and devoted a good few moments of mental capacity to roundly cursing him out inside her head. "Killing a berserker is next to impossible," Peter continued, choosing to ignore her slightly murderous expression. "It's not just about the fire power, it's about breaking the animal spirit from the human."

Kyla sighed. "Yeah well, I've told everyone everything I know about that. It's not even anything concrete. Just the old Myths and those are subject to change over time."

"And the only other person we know with that kind of experience is Argent," Derek contributed. "And he's not getting back to me."

Peter gave a contented shrug. "Well then we're going to need help," he stated lightly. "The mercenary waiting outside, Malia, maybe Liam, definitely me." The small smirk on his face made Kyla think of all of the stories she had ever heard about making deals with the devil.

* * *

When they pulled in to the warehouse space they had all decided to meet in, the others had already arrived. Braeden was standing a few feet in front of a federal prison transport van with Stiles, Malia, and Liam. "We're really bringing him?" Derek asked, jerking his head at Liam as they walked up to the others.

"We're really bringing him?" Stiles threw back at him, gesturing to Peter.

Kyla was partially inclined to agree with him, but during a battle se recognized the necessity of taking all possible allies. Even when those allies were potential enemies. "We're taking _everybody_," Peter informed him superiorly. "And considering Kate took Scott and Kira the night before a full moon, we should probably get going."

"What's that mean?" Malia demanded.

"If Kate took Scott back to the same temple that she took Derek, how do we know that she's not planning on doing the same thing?" he asked rhetorically, raising an admittedly valid point.

Liam frowned, looking a bit confused. The new Beta looked even younger than he had the last time Kyla had seen him, with his hair a mess, his face pale, and wearing an oversized grey and red sweatshirt. "She wants to make him younger?"

"Or take him back to when he wasn't a werewolf," Derek realized. Kyla twisted her fingers with his and gave a brief squeeze. Trying to convey a promise that they would figure things out.

Peter continued on with his hypothetical scenario. "A human can't steel the power of a true Alpha but maybe, a Nahual jaguar with the power of Tezcatlipoca behind her can." He let that hang for a moment before continuing cheerily. "So, if everyone is sufficiently freaked out, I say we get going."

"We can't," Stiles said determinedly. "Not without Lydia."

* * *

A tense half hour later, Stiles was leaving his fifth voice mail, and Braeden and Peter were both pacing. Liam was shifting his weight from foot to foot, and Kyla was channeling an unusually high level of self-restraint to keep herself from humming. "What is she doing at the school anyway?" Derek asked, barely hiding the impatience in his voice.

Malia held out Kira's katana. "We got Kira's sword but we need something with a stronger scent. Lydia wants to get a jacket out of her locker."

"Nothing," Stiles told them as he rejoined the group.

"If she has a car she can always catch up with us," Kyla suggested. "She knows where we're going and her car has a better GPS than any of ours anyway."

Peter pointed at her. "That's a good point. We should hit the road."

"No," Stiles protested worriedly. "What if something happened? What if something's wrong?"

Kyla sighed. Stiles's devotion to his friends and his desire to stay in one group was plenty admirable, but at that point _everything _was wrong. "Fine!" Peter huffed. "You stay here. _You _find her. We're going to go on without you." With that he stormed off to Derek's car.

"I could call Mason," Liam suggested uncertainly, looking between the rest of them. "He has a study group at school. Maybe he could look for her."

It sounded like as good a plan as any to her and from the way Derek had raised his eyebrows at Stiles he thought so to. Stiles sighed unhappily. "Alright fine."

Before Kyla could pile in to the transport van with Braeden, Derek, Liam, and Stiles, Peter stopped them. "Remember what we're dealing with here," he advised. The man shrugged a jacket on over his shoulders. "It's not jus Kate, it's berserkers. Their might be human eyes behind those skulls but do not assume that their is any humanity left."

Kyla didn't meet his pale blue eyes. She knew all about things that looked human but weren't. She was one of them.

Peter's icy eyes landed on Liam. "Aw... This little one is terrified of them aren't you?" Stiles glanced at Liam and Kyla felt a bit bad for the youngest member of their little group. He hadn't had time to learn yet that fear didn't have to be a disadvantage. Fear could be like a super power. Peter almost seemed to read her mind. "Don't worry my friend it is that fear that will keep you alive." He looked back at the larger group. "Reminder to everyone: you do not fight berserkers to stay alive. You fight to kill."

* * *

Braeden drove as Kyla, Derek, and Stiles worked on getting Liam secured. "All good?" Derek asked. Liam jerked his wrist, checking the strength of the cuffs. He looked back up at Derek and nodded. "I brought something else to help you," Derek drew the round triskele medallion from his jacket pocket and held it in his hands so that Liam could see it. "This has been with my family for centuries," he said.

Kyla was pretty sure that that was actually the medallion Peter claimed had been made in China, but just then didn't seem quite like the right time to bring it up. "It's a very powerful supernatural talisman," Derek continued. "We use it to teach new Betas control during the full moon." He held the medallion out to Liam who took it uncertainly.

Derek looked at Stiles expectantly. Stiles just raised his eyebrows questioningly. Derek jerked his head at Liam and a look of realization emerged on Stiles's face. Kyla found herself trying not to laugh. "Yes," Stiles said slowly. "It's powerful," he coughed awkwardly. "Very... powerful."

Kyla offered him a small smile. "I'm right here too Liam," she reminded him. "The full moon is when you've got the least control but it's when I have the most power. See my eyes?" Liam focused on her almost pure silver irises and nodded. "That means I'm on full power right now," she explained. "If you get out of control there's a pretty good chance I can just order you to stop."

Liam nodded and shut his eyes, taking deep, slow breaths. Kyla leaned back, her side pressed against Derek's. She could feel him breathing in and out, in and out. She sighed. This was going to be a _long _drive.

* * *

As the moon rose, Kyla felt her strength rising. The power ghosted through her system in warm waves that began as a tingling sensation in her fingers and then spread through her body. She frowned, that was a much larger power boost than normal. Somehow, Derek seemed to be able to sense something was different. he was splitting his gaze between her and Liam. The young Beta was getting further out of control with every passing second.

"What every you were going to teach me," he gritted out around a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. His claws had grown out around the triskele medallion still clutched in his hand. He looked up, eyes glowing a bright, feral yellow. "I think you'd better start."

Derek leaned forward. "Okay Liam, you with me?" Liam gave a shaky nod. "Repeat it, you focus on the words. It's like meditating. You say the words until you feel control coming back to you."

"Okay," Liam panted out. His body jerked and he doubled over, trying to contain the shift. "Okay what are the words!?"

"Look at the triskeilion," Derek prompted. He was speaking quickly and urgently with an air of concentrated calm. "You see the symbol? I have a tattoo on my back of exactly the same thing. Each spiral _means _something."

Stiles stared. "Alpha, Beta, Omega," he realized.

Derek didn't bother giving him a verbal response but kept his focus on Liam. "It represents how we can all rise to on and fall back to another. Betas can become Alphas."

"Alphas can become Betas," Kyla added.

Liam took a deep shaking breath. "Can Alpha's become Omegas?"

Derek nodded. "All you have to do is say the three words, and with each one you tell yourself your getting calmer. More in control," he paused a moment to let Liam take another breath. "Go ahead," he prompted.

"Alpha Beta-" he started

"_Slower," _Derek enunciated to him slowly.

Kyla allowed a bit of power to slip in to her tone. "Breath Liam."

He obeyed the command without really processing it and began again. "Alpha, Beta, Omega. Alpha, Beta, Omega."

"Good," Derek told him. "Now say it again. Remember that every time you say the words you're getting calmer."

Liam fought back a snarl. His body was shaking so much that the van had begun to wobble. "Alpha, Beta, Omega." An inhuman note had tangled in his voice, making it deeper and more primal.

"Oh god," Stiles mumbled, drawing his feet up on to his seat ad retreating to the farthest corner he could get to. "Derek I don't think that powerful talisman of self control is working."

As if his words were prophetic, the last of Liam's control snapped. His eyes shone a feral glow stick yellow and his jaw distorted as his canines erupted fully. He jerked forward and the entire van tipped with him. Kyla banged painfully in to the back wall of the van and barely caught herself before she was hurled to the floor as the vehicle skidded. The handcuffs snapped as Liam hurled himself at Derek who threw up his hands just in time to try to push Liam back.

"Guys!" Braeden called worriedly.

Stiles scrambled over to the thin layer of mesh that separated them from the driver. "I think we're going to need to go a little faster!"

"Liam **_calm down."_**Kyla said, speaking with all of the power she could put in to those words. It didn't matter much though. Liam's additional anger issues were giving him further fuel. The part in werewolves that normally left them conscious enough to respond to her commands was too blocked.

"Keep going!" Derek shouted, just barely managing to hold Liam off.

The car accelerated to it's absolute limits and Kyla helped Derek shove Liam back in to his seat. "We're almost there!" Braeden shouted.

As Liam continued to jerk and shift Stiles shouted. "I really don't think the mantra Alpha, Beta, Omega, is resonating with him!" His voice was high and panicky.

"Do you any other mantras!" Derek demanded.

Suddenly Kyla realized something. "We do," she said quietly. She shifted in to Liam's direct line of sight and made sure his eyes were tracking her as she crouched to the floor. "Liam! What three things can not long remain hidden?!"

Stiles immediately saw what she was doing. "Answer her Liam!" he ordered. 'What three things can not long remain hidden?"

"Liam look at me!" Kyla shouted as his claws got closer and closer to Derek's face. "What three things!" Stiles was shouting much the same thing. Both of them were just trying to better their odds of not getting torn apart.

"The sun, moon, the truth," Liam managed. His voice was straining, caught halfway between his human voice and a wolfs growl.

Stiles looked like he wanted to cry with relief. 'That's right, that's it. Say it again. Look at what Kyla's doing."

Kyla used her _stele _against the floor to carve the runes for the sun, the moon, and the truth as Liam said the words again. His claws slowly began to retract and Derek managed a deep breath. Kyla looked at him questioningly as Braeden called back, "Guys?"

"We're good," Derek said exhaustedly. He gripped Kyla's free hand tightly. "We're all okay."

_For now. _Kyla thought privately. She leaned her head against Derek's shoulder, letting him pull her back on to the bench seat beside him. Liam kept reciting the mantra. His teeth and claws slowly shrunk back to their human form. "Well now we know why so many people from your family and pack are border line insane," she mumbled in to his shoulder. "Uncountable generations of practical werewolf royalty and you've been using the wrong damn mantra."

Derek actually managed dark chuckle as they pulled up outside _La Iglesia. _"I can't believe I did it," Liam said incredulously. He looked at them. "You know for a minute their I actually thought I was going to tear the three of you apart."

"Yeah well that would've made for an awkward ride home so thanks," Stiles said sarcastically.

Derek simply put the comment to the side and kept his focus on Liam. "Do you think you can maintain the same level of control inside _La Iglesia?_" The Spanish syllables rolled off his tongue beautifully, as though he was reciting poetry. Kyla remembered how his teenaged self had spoken with Agent McCall. She would have to ask him when he had learned someday. A cold feeling rolled down her spine. If Derek was right, they might not get someday.

Liam threw out his hand experimentally. Wickedly sharp claws sprung from his fingertips on command and he smiled proudly.

"Alright," Kyla said. "With you and Malia both in control we might actually be able to do this."

Stiles nodded and looked to Derek. Derek got up and went to open the doors of the van. Seconds after he had opened the door he was thrown out of it by a hulking berserker. It smashed Derek repeatedly in to a boulder and slashed at him with a brutally sharp sort of blade. In a second Kyla's bow was in her hand and she fired explosive arrow at the thing at top speed. Braeden joined her with a gun and the berserker ran off.

Kyla was next to him in an instant. She dropped to the ground next to him, and tried to examine the wound in his abdomen with shaking fingers. Blood was pouring from it and his breathing shook. Kyla pushed her hand against the gash. She dimly recognized that everyone was standing frozen. All she could really see was the blood leaking out around her fingers.

"How bad is it?" Peter asked. It was strange, but in that moment Kyla could tell that as sociopathic as Peter was at times, one of the few things remaining that he actually cared about was Derek.

She was about to speak but Derek cut her off. "I'm fine, I' fine," he said, lying desperately. His eyes were tightly shut and a tiny bit of blood was leaking from the corner of his mouth. Kyla shook her head but couldn't speak. A knot had formed in her throat and no sound would come out. "Just get to Scott," he ordered. "Just find him. No one moved a muscle as Derek struggled to breath. He locked eyes with Kyla. "We'll be right behind you," he said, still addressing the others. "Just go." Still no one moved. "Go!"

Peter looked like something was tearing at him, but he ran off. Moments later, Kyla heard the footsteps of the others following him. "Hey- hey," Derek said again, his voice loosing force. Kyla whipped around to see that Stiles still hadn't moved. Derek pulled in a painful breath. "Save him." It was an order and a request. Stiles nodded and turned. But he did hesitate to look back. That single moment of hesitation broke Kyla's heart more than anything else. Out of everyone there including her, Stiles and Derek had known each other the longest.

"Lydia-" Derek chocked out. "Lydia was right."

"Shut up," Kyla ordered as a knee jerk reaction to the comment. "No wait, don't shut up. Keep talking to me. Derek!" she shouted at him as his eyes fell shut. "Talk to me! But not about death because I swear to the gods if you die I will climb down in to the underworld and drag you back out of there my self!"

Against all the odds, in the total chaos of the situation Derek almost seemed to choke on a laugh. "I'm not kidding," Kyla said seriously. "I will fucking do it Derek."

He coughed around another pained chuckle and it sounded like a knife being scraped over a rock. "I-" his speech was broken. "I know you- will."Power from the moon thrummed through her veins and Kyla concentrated all of her might on pushing it out of her and in to Derek. "Don't," he said gripping her wrist. "Don't waste it on me. Find- find Scott and Kira."

"I'm not letting you die!" she hissed, but the healing wasn't working. The blood seeping around her fingers was starting to turn black as his system rejected the magic.

Braeden ran up behind them and took a hand gun from the holster on her hip. "Can he still pull a trigger?" she asked bending down on Derek's other side.

The question was directed to Kyla but Derek answered it. "Yeah," he nodded weekly and let his head lean back against an ancient wall. His eyes were drifting closed and Braeden handed the gun to Kyla. Kyla in turn pressed the weapon in to his fingers, curling them so that they could reach the trigger. His normally warm hands felt horribly cold.

"Jut stay with me okay?" Kyla begged, pressing his empty hand across the wound in his stomach trying desperately to keep the blood that meant he was alive inside his body. "You're going to be fine." She was lying. There was no way in heaven or hell she could guarantee that all of _this _was going to be fine.

Derek knew it to. Another one of those infuriatingly week little laughs fought it's way out of his throat. It was ironic that Kyla had heard him laugh the most on a night that might end with her never hearing him laugh again. "It's a mortal wound," he pointed out, fighting for air. "And uh, right now I'm feeling pretty mortal."

"I told you already!" Kyla exclaimed. "I'm not going to let you die!" A screeching noise echoed through the old ruins and Braeden stood, scanning their surroundings carefully.

"You both might just have to focus on saving yourselves," Derek breathed out, his voice going weaker and weaker with every word. He swallowed hard. "Come here," he told Kyla. She leaned down and he pressed a kiss against her forehead. HIs lips were cracked and dry. "Go," he said. "Survive."

It felt like her heart was being ripped in half. Kyla got up slowly, and ran with silent steps up a flight of stairs so that she could get a better vantage point. Tears dripped silently down her face and splashed on the ground. They almost seem to gleam like silver in the moonlight and she didn't bother to brush them away.

Then came the first berserker. Without hesitation Kyla aimed and fired. Arrow after arrow made contact with the hulking form, exploding against the armor. The berserker barely even slowed down until she was pinned to the wall. She heard Braeden's gun shots stop and hoped that the mercenary wasn't dead yet. Anyone not trying to kill her was a friend at that point.

"Poor little Kyla," the steely voice of Kate Argent said from a point near the ground a few feet away said. Kyla struggled to make eye contact with her but the task was made trickier by the berserker's hand strangling her. "Just a poor seventeen year old mixed up with the big bad wolf. You even have the gorgeous red hair." Kyla struggled but it was no good. One of the first things a typical self defense teacher taught a student was to run away if the person they were up against was clarly someone that they couldn't beet. Kyla had clearly missed that class.

Kate was still considering her. "And such gorgeous eyes," she continued. "They really are pure silver now aren't they? Now that's something special."

Kyla grinned coldly. "All the better to see you with," she said in a sickly sweet voice. A burst of energy blasted out from her and Kate and the berserker flew back as she dropped to the ground. The darkness was split by the shine of high powered headlights. The vans unloaded t reveal Argent, Parish, and a whole clan of Spanish speaking, heavily armed hunters. The Calaveras had joined the party.

And Derek hadn't left it yet. Kyla could _feel _it. The thread of energy that signified his life was pulsing determinedly on. Somewhere around there, Derek's heart was still beating.

She dashed threw the commotion of gun fire. She saw Argent and Parish shooting and hunters falling, but she bypassed all of it and headed straight for Derek. He was still there, still lying right where she had left him. Still breathing. "Derek," she said quietly.

His clouded eyes tiredly focused on hers. A small, genuine smile split his face "_Mi nina de la luna," _he said on a breath. And then his eyes fell shut.

Kyla gasped and tried desperately to breath. It was felt like she had been hit by a semi-truck. She brought her hands up, cupping his face and took a moment in all of the chaos to lean her forehead against his. Her tears splattered off her cheeks and onto his, leaving silver trails across his skin.

Then all of the gun fire began again along with a cacophony of snarling. She lifted her bow, firing arrow after arrow in Kate's direction. The silver points buried themselves in the were-jaguars skin as tears poured down Kyla's cheeks. Her chest felt like it was being constricted and her lungs felt like they had been filled with lava. Jason had tried to describe seeing Hera in her true form once and had said it was like burning from the inside out. Kyla wondered if this was what he had meant.

It was hard to say how long the fighting lasted. Everything was a wash of explosions and gunshots and not being able to breath. "You're next Ariyah!" Kate called as Ariyah Calavera stepped forward.

"Come La Loba," she said in a voice of icy determination. "Let me show you how the Calaveras die!"

Then the night was rent with a beautiful, eerie, musical howl. The cry of a wolf. Kyla glanced around frantically, trying to place what was wrong about the scene in front of her. Apart from pretty much absolutely everything. Then it hit her. Derek's body was gone. Suddenly Kyla could feel the air pouring through her lungs in clean sharp gusts.

A lean, pure black wolf with broad shoulders leaped gracefully over a cluster of rocks. It paused next to Ariyah and the toothy snarl shrank from Kate's face as the wolf's eyes flashed a pure electric blue. Then it launched it's self forward, tackling Kate to the ground snapping and tearing at any flesh it could reach. Then it leapt away and Kate rolled across the ground with a pained grown.

The wolf snarled, showing sparkling and deadly canine teeth. Then the wolf began to change. Growing taller and more human each second until Derek stood. Naked and broad shouldered and very very alive. A smile so wide Kyla thought her cheeks might split formed on Kyla's face. The hunters dropped their weapons, simply watching the scene unfold as Derek advanced on Kate.

"You were," Kate panted out in an awed, disbelieving voice. "You were dead."

Derek shook his head. "No," a triumphant expression on his face. "I was evolving. Something you'll never do." His head snapped up as a berserker came forward. He blocked the creature's first strike easily. Then moving almost so fast Kyla's eyes couldn't process it he managed to get inside the berserkers guard. Derek gripped the berserkers skull and pulled, yanking the creature apart with his bare hands. And the berserker exploded, leaving nothing but armor to show that it had ever existed.

A single extra gun shot echoed through the night and Kate flew trough the air before crumpling back to the earth. Kyla searched for the source of the bullet and found Chris Argent, still holding the gun he had just used against his sister. "Chris?" Kate breathed. Then she ran.

Chris moved to follow her but Derek ran straight to Derek, throwing her arms around his neck. "Oh my gods," she breathed. One of her hands moved quickly down his chest and pressed down against his heartbeat. His skin was smooth and warm as his heart thundered below her finger tips. "You're alive."

He nodded, leaning down and pressing his head against hers. "I'm alive."

Kyla opened and closed her mouth trying to think of what to say next but nothing came. Then his mouth was on hers, and it didn't matter anymore. The feeling of his lips and tongue moving with hers erased all other thought, and when they did eventually break apart Kyla's mind was blissfully blank.

She took a tiny half step backwards. "As cool as the wolf thing is," she said with a smile. "We're going to need to find you some clothes unless you plan on doing it again." Derek grinned and took a step back himself. In the next moment, the black wolf was back.

The wolf that was Derek trotted forward and stood directly beside her. He was so large and Kyla was so small that his head could nudge against her hip with the smallest stretch of his neck. Slowly, Kyla ran her fingers through the ebony fur at the back of his neck. As the silky strands slid across her fingers a low, almost purring sound rumbled through Derek's wolf body. "We're still going to need to find you some clothes," she told him.

* * *

By the time the sun rose the next morning, everyone was generally exhausted. If people weren't dead they were injured and if they were neither they were at the very least spattered with blood. Scott was back to being an Alpha werewolf and Peter was out cold.

"There's enough yellow wolfsbane to keep Peter out for the trip back," Argent told them all.

"You're really going with them?" Scott asked. His fingers were tightly woven with Kira's and the Kitsune was still covered in her own dry blood. Not everyone had been able to pack spare clothes as Derek had. Good thing he had to, otherwise the options for a drive home would have been a naked guy or a giant wolf.

Argent nodded. "I made a deal with the Calaveras weeks ago," he explained. "They'll leave you alone. All of you. But only if I help them catch Kate."

"What if you can't find her," Kira asked worriedly.

"I'll find her," Argent stated plainly. "Someone has to." He gave Derek a small nod as he passed and Derek returned it.

As they all got ready to go, Derek tuned his hearing to Kyla's voice as she spoke to Braeden. "You're not actually a U.S Marshal right?" she was asking.

"I was," Braeden admitted. "Until I spent too long looking for one person. It's hard to keep a job when part of it becomes an obsession."

Derek made his way over to the two of them and let his arm twist around Kyla's waist, pulling her in against his side as he held the door open. "Who were you after?" he questioned.

Braeden's eyes flicked to him. "All I had was a code name," she told him. "The Dessert Wolf."

Derek frowned and saw a similar expression on Kyla's face as the two of them moved to let Braeden get in to the car and shut her door.

He and Kyla walked around to his car, and Derek held the passenger side open for her. Peter had driven the car there but would be spending the return journey bound, gagged, and sedated in the trunk. He nodded to Scott before climbing in and shutting the door.

As they pulled away from _La Iglesia, _he could feel Kyla watching him. "What?" he asked, looking at her. Now that the moon was no longer full, her eyes had begun to fade pack to leaf green.

"Nothing," she said with a small smile. "It's just- you being alive..." the smile grew. "It's the best birthday present ever."

"You turned eighteen yesterday?" Derek asked, startled. He was pretty sure it was in the job description of boyfriends to remember birthdays.

She laughed. "At the stroke of midnight. You can relax though. You being alive and able to completely turn in to a wolf is a pretty kick ass birthday present. Besides, no one else died either. I call that a good day."

Derek glanced over at her again and found that a small velvet box rested in her hand. He remembered Nico Diangelo handing it to her. "What's that?"

She shrugged. "According to Nico it's a present from my father."

"The dead one?" he checked.

"Yeah," she sighed and very slowly opened the box. It was almost like she was worried it might bite her. Inside rested a three delicate charms on a small silver chain. The symbols were a bow, a rune that Derek recognized from Kyla's skin, and strangely a triskeilion. Kyla flipped the charm over. "_Meta tin apokalypsi," _she read out loud.

Derek frowned. He may have been bilingual but Greek was not one of the two languages in his vocabulary. "What does it mean?"

Kyla laughed again and let her head fall back against the seat. She twined the fingers of her left hand with his right as it sat over the gear shift. "It means after the apocalypse," she translated. "Post apocalyptic chaos."

**A/N: So how was it? The conclusion of season 4! I hope it was worth the wait. Let me know what you thought! Review for me! xoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxo**


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